Dodgers place Shohei Ohtani on 15-day IL, recall top prospect Josue De Paula
The Los Angeles Dodgers are placing two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani on the injured list for the first time since he joined the team in 2024, recalling top prospect Josue De Paula to take his place.
Ohtani has been dealing with a slew of injuries that kept him out of the lineup in six of the team's last seven games. He's been hampered by discomfort in his right biceps and left knee for several weeks, but recently missed four consecutive games before making an 0-for-3, two-strikeout appearance against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday.
Following the game, Ohtani said that he felt good, but the Dodgers kept him out of action on Tuesday to "build him up slowly." He was held from the lineup again on Wednesday, and following the Boys in Blue's 14-1 walloping of the Reds, the Dodgers announced Ohtani was headed to the IL.
"The concern is that after four days, and then to take four at-bats and to feel something in an at-bat where we can't keep going forward," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before Wednesday's matchup. "I think that's disappointing. … Obviously, it's not ideal given that it would potentially be 15 days, but I still stand by whatever is best for him is best for us."
Roberts later said that Ohtani took a swing on Monday that was still nagging him and kept him from playing the final two games of the Cincinnati series.
"It's the right thing to do," Roberts said. "We tried to kick the can as much as we could."
According to the Dodgers, the minimum IL stint for a two-way player is 15 days. Since his last appearance came on Monday, the team can retroactively date his time on the IL until then, meaning he could return to the field for the final week of the MLB season.
Roberts said that knowing what he knows now, he would have preferred to put Ohtani on the IL last Thursday, when his lineup absence began.
"But I did feel at that moment in time, we all felt that giving him four days was sufficient," Roberts said. "He was agreeable."
The Dodgers skipper recently revealed that Ohtani wouldn't make any further pitching appearances in the 2026 season. He hasn't pitched in a game since July 3 and had all throwing workouts shut down after August 28.
This year, Ohtani was 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 85 and 2/3 innings pitched. He's also hitting .277 with 30 homers and 80 runs batted in.
Roberts said that the Boys in Blue are hopeful to get the four-time MVP back into the lineup as soon as they can.
"I do think that if the playoffs were tomorrow, he'd be in the lineup," Roberts said after Wednesday's game. "I'm pretty confident that he'll be ready to go on that 15th day."
Ohtani will remain in Los Angeles when the Dodgers set out on their seven-game road trip that starts in Miami on Friday. Roberts said the plan is to "get his body feeling well and then slowly ramp back up" as they seek their third-straight World Series championship.
If he returns when expected, the Japanese superstar will have six games left in the season to get ready for postseason play.
"It's certainly not ideal," Roberts said. "The most important thing is him being as healthy as possible, not compromising his swing, and kind of bet on that."
Taking his place on the roster for at least the next two weeks is outfield prospect Josue De Paula. The 21-year-old Brooklyn-born Dominican Republic native hit .302 with 26 homers and 101 RBIs in 123 Double-A games this season. He's currently ranked as MLB's No. 6 overall prospect and the top farmhand in the Dodgers organization.
De Paula, who stands 6-foot-3 and plays the corner outfield positions, is slated to make his big-league debut on Friday against the Miami Marlins, according to Roberts.
"I think that our player development group is very confident in his ability to conduct an at-bat. You could argue that the talent in Double-A is similar to Triple-A as far as pure arms and arm talent," Roberts said. "We've seen him in camp for two or three years. He doesn't run from velocity. He controls the strike zone. This is just a good opportunity for him to kind of cut his teeth in the big leagues."
De Paula was named Futures Game MVP in 2025 and has continued to impress in minor league ball since. Between 225 games over the last two years, the lefty hit .280 with 38 home runs, 145 runs driven in, 63 stolen bases and an impressive slash line of .280/.396/.470.
