MLB Playoffs 2025: Injuries, Recovery and Role of Physical Therapy

As the MLB playoffs heat up, every pitch, swing, and slide counts. But behind the stats and highlights, injuries can make or break a team’s post season run. From hamstring strains to shoulder inflammation, the health of a roster often plays a silent but critical role in who advances to the World Series.

More often than not, when thinking of baseball injuries, we hyperfixate on the shoulder. However, in recent events, we have seen an influx in more trunk and lower limb injuries as the playoffs approach; some can result in an early end to the season and while others may recover in time for the fall classic. Let’s take a look across the league to see how some teams are affected.

Recent injuries across MLB:

1. Shohei Ohtani - 2023 UCL repair surgery R arm

Ohtani underwent shoulder surgery last year and Tommy John surgery in 2023 was cleared to resume pitching earlier this season but with limitations. Despite throwing 5 no-hit innings in his recent outing, the move to pull him from the game was likely a preventative measure to help with his recovery process. With this injury, it is important to follow pitching restrictions during his return to sport phase of rehab. Likely, this limitation will follow into the post season, and we shouldn’t expect to see Ohtani throwing late in the game as his pitch count increases.

How PT can help?

Due to the intensity of his sport and the importance of his performance, he is still in the late phases of his recovery. The surgery and injury are still limiting factors for him, resulting in extra caution as he continues to stress his arm. In the later stages of his rehabilitation Ohtani has been working with MLB trainers and physical therapists to ensure that he is recovering smoothly. Physical therapists help people like Ohtani and other pitchers of all levels to reduce their pain and improve their arm’s ability to tolerate the sport/position by addressing throwing mechanics as well as mobility/strength limitations to optimize performance.

2. Nestor Cortes - Left biceps tendonitis

Cortes’s injury to his throwing arm has shut him down for a couple weeks but will likely be in the rotation or bullpen for the Padres during the post season. As he nears the end of his IL stint, he will likely be day to day for the Padres as this injury is the result of overuse due to repetitive stresses as a pitcher.

How PT can help?

Tendonitis is a diagnosis that physical therapists treat often, especially for athletes who play sports that require repetitive movements. Physical therapy can help by addressing acute inflammation and help to reduce load to the injured tendon. Ultimately, progressive loading would be utilized to build muscle and tendon resilience to allow the athlete to participate in their sport without risk of re-injury. As the season ends, diving deeper into Cortez’s throwing mechanics would be beneficial to reduce the likelihood of this becoming a recurring issue in his career.

3. Trea Turner - Right Hamstring strain

Turner injured his hamstring sprinting out during a close call at first base. The injury appears to be a low grade muscle strain due to Turner’s reaction and the Phillies expecting a return before the season ends.

How PT can help?

Physical therapy can help hamstring injuries heal and get you safely back to your sport. After the pain and inflammation has subsided, therapy focuses on rebuilding strength and flexibility in the hamstring. Since sprinting puts a lot of stress on this muscle, PT helps you gradually handle more running, faster speeds, and explosive movements through a tailored strength program that mimics the action that caused the injury. We also help with proper warm up and prepare your muscles before games to lower the chance of re-injury.

These are just a few of the injuries across the league, but there are big decisions ahead for MLB teams and their rehabilitation staff moving forward into the post season. This also highlights the importance of a well rounded training and recovery program to mitigate the risk of these injuries during the grueling 120 game season. While physical therapy helps athletes to recover from injuries like these, taking a closer look at past injuries, mobility limitations, and strength deficits can assist in preventing them from happening in the first place.

Dealing with a current or past injury?

Don’t wait until it sidelines you. Schedule a 1-on-1 evaluation or movement assessment with our physical therapy team to address pain, instability/balance, or mobility issues.