The Los Angeles Dodgers officially brought back Shohei Ohtani from the Injured List and optioned rookie Josue De Paula.
The Los Angeles Dodgers officially activated two-way player Shohei Ohtani from the 15-day Injured List as the season winds down with just five games left to go.
Ahead of Tuesday's series-opening win against the San Diego Padres, skipper Dave Roberts laid out the plans for the starting lineup with the addition of Ohtani.
Despite Ohtani being the main spearhead in the lineup, Mookie Betts, who has taken the reins in the leadoff spot since Ohtani's departure, has found fire at the plate, hitting .393 with a slugging percentage of .750 in 28 at-bats.
He's still expected to remain the team's designated hitter for the remaining five games, but pitching matchups will dictate who anchors the top of the lineup, according to Roberts.
Ohtani will bat second behind Betts
For Wednesday's matchup against San Diego, Betts leads off and plays shortstop against Padres starter Robbie Ray, while Ohtani bats second and is the designated hitter in his return.
This marks the first time since June 16, 2024, that Ohtani is batting somewhere other than the leadoff spot.
In order to make room for Ohtani, the Dodgers optioned their top prospect, Josue De Paula, to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
De Paula, 21, was a jolt of young energy to a Dodgers lineup that was picking themselves up from a slow production of August baseball. In his short 11-game stint, De Paula hit .323 with a .581 slugging percentage and five extra-base hits, including his first home run and his first hit as a Major Leaguer on Sept. 13.
De Paula out for Wild Card Series
The entire move of optioning the red-hot De Paula was entirely due to timing and preserving his postseason eligibility, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic.
De Paula will not be eligible to play in the Wild Card Series — barring the Dodgers end up there — but once his 10 days are up, he'll be eligible to be activated on Oct. 3, which falls at the beginning of the National League Division Series.
Alongside De Paula being sent down, the Dodgers are expected to activate catcher Dalton Rushing off his IL stint, and he could serve as a crucial lefty bat off the bench. Rushing is shut down from catching for the remainder of the year as he is still tending to his injured UCL in his elbow, but his bat is still a viable option.
Rushing will get a short sample size in his return to action, but the Dodgers can lean towards De Paula more if need be. It is unlikely that Los Angeles will consider carrying both of them once Postseason rosters have to be submitted.
