The Los Angeles Dodgers pulled the trigger Wednesday, activating Shohei Ohtani from the injured list. It was totally expected, sure, but the real headline move was who went down: rookie slugger Josue De Paula, who has been absolutely on fire, got sent straight to Triple-A Oklahoma City. That team’s season could even end today, which just feels wild after the impact De Paula made.
The Kid Who Stepped Up, And Then Stepped Out
Let’s be real, De Paula stepped up in a big way for the Dodgers. This kid is their top prospect, one of the best overall in baseball, and he was originally called up to replace Ohtani on the roster. What a stretch! In the 11 games Ohtani missed, no other Dodger player reached base more than De Paula. Think about that: a rookie, coming in cold, out-performing everyone in that stretch. He reached base in half of his first 42 MLB plate appearances! That’s just not normal production for a new guy. Add that to him winning Texas League MVP honors in Double-A at just 21 years old, and you get why people were buzzing about him. The team even went 11-3 during that time, clinching both a playoff berth and the NL West, plus locking up a strong wild-card bye position. Now, he’s making his Triple-A debut as a starter in Game 2 of the PCL championship series. Talk about a roller coaster.
Ohtani’s Back, But The October Roster Isn’t Settled
With Ohtani back, he’s set to hit second against Padres left-hander Robbie Ray, his first time not batting leadoff for the Dodgers since June 16, 2024. Mookie Betts is filling that leadoff spot instead, which makes sense with how red-hot he’s been. But even with Ohtani back, there are still some big questions for the Dodgers’ postseason roster. De Paula’s demotion means he *can* be recalled by October 3, when the NLDS starts. He’s not technically playoff-eligible because he wasn’t on the 40-man roster by September 1, but the team can petition the commissioner’s office to get him in if someone else goes on the injured list. With Ohtani at designated hitter and corner outfielders Teoscar Hernandez and Kyle Tucker both resurrecting their down seasons lately, there’s no easy spot for De Paula in the starting lineup. He’s still in the mix for a bench bat role though, battling it out with Dalton Rushing, who’s attempting to play through a partially torn UCL. Rushing won’t be catching this year, but he’s expected back this week. De Paula set a seriously high bar for anyone trying to earn October at-bats.
The Dodgers are currently on track to play either the Atlanta Braves or the Padres in the NLDS. Figuring out that final bench spot, especially with a talent like De Paula showing what he can do, is a good problem to have for sure, but it’s a problem they still need to solve before the postseason kicks off.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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