Shohei Ohtani, who has sat out six of the past seven games because of discomfort in his right arm, is going on the injured list, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters after Wednesday night's 14-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
The Dodgers are also calling up Josue De Paula, one of baseball's best outfield prospects, from Double-A to temporarily take his place at designated hitter, Roberts said.
As a two-way player, Ohtani must go on the 15-day injured list, which means that, when backdated to his last appearance on Monday, the soonest he can return is Sept. 23. That would give Ohtani a maximum of five regular-season games to get ready for the playoffs.
De Paula, 21, will join the team Friday for the start of a seven-game trip through Miami and Cincinnati and is expected to get most of the playing time vacated by Ohtani over the next 11 games. He was rated the 10th-best prospect in ESPN's updated rankings last month and has been tearing it up in Double-A, slashing .303/.401/.547 with 27 home runs and 31 stolen bases in 124 games.
Roberts said putting Ohtani on the IL was "the right thing to do," adding, "We tried to kick the can as much as we could."
Asked his confidence that Ohtani will be in a good place when he gets back, Roberts said: "Very."
"If it were a postseason game tomorrow, he would be in the lineup," Roberts said. "Now you're talking about two weeks, 14 days. I feel that it's that substantial. He'll be in a much better place than he was today. Is it going to be 100%? Probably not. But I do think, with this time that we're taking now, he'll be in an adequate spot to finish the season and beyond."
De Paula, who was signed out of the Dominican Republic for slightly less than $400,000 in 2022, breezed past the Dominican Summer League and both levels of A-ball in his first four years in the organization, ultimately becoming the Dodgers' consensus top prospect. The Dodgers refused to include him in trade talks for Tarik Skubal this summer, seeing him as an impact player in their lineup in the near future. And though he is in Double-A, evaluators believe his bat is major league ready right now.
Ohtani, in some ways, is not.
The Dodgers' two-way star has not pitched since July 3 because of continuing soreness in his left knee, which manifested again when he tried to throw a bullpen session on Aug. 28. Ohtani acknowledged Monday that he would "most likely" not pitch again this season. But lately, it's his offense that has been a concern.
It began last Wednesday, when Ohtani shook his right arm as he retreated to the dugout after a 10th-inning strikeout. Ohtani was out of the lineup the following day, marking his first absence since July 30. The hope was that he would return shortly thereafter, but he also sat out games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
He returned Monday, went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts, and took another day off Tuesday. The plan was for him to return Wednesday, but Roberts said Ohtani complained of pain in his right arm during one of his swings Monday, prompting the team to think more seriously about putting him on the IL.
Ohtani has a .902 OPS with 30 home runs and 11 stolen bases this season, but he has compiled only seven hits and 22 strikeouts over his past 54 at-bats. He'll take the next few days off to reset his body, then start hitting again to build up for the final days of the regular season.
Roberts told reporters Wednesday night that he believed this would allow the team to "get the best of him for the postseason."