The Los Angeles Dodgers, deciding that Shohei Ohtani needs rest if he’s going to help them win their third consecutive World Series title in October, are placing the four-time MVP on the 15-day injured list for the first time since he joined the Dodgers.
“It’s the right thing to do,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday night after the Dodgers’ 14-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, their season-high seventh consecutive victory. “We tried to kick the can as much as we could.”
Ohtani, who will be eligible to return Sept. 23 with five regular-season games remaining, will be replaced on the roster by prized outfield prospect Josue De Paula, who will primarily be the DH, but also play in the outfield.
“Let’s get (Ohtani’s) body feeling well and then slowly ramp back up because now we do have time,” Roberts said. “I think that if it were a postseason game tomorrow, he would be in the lineup. So now you’re talking about two weeks, 14 days. I feel that’s substantial, and (he) will be in a much better place than he was today.”
Ohtani, a two-way player who hasn’t pitched since July 3, has been bothered by left knee soreness and a right biceps strain, which forced him out of the lineup six times in the last seven games.
“Is it going to be 100%?” Roberts said. “Probably not. But I do think that with this time that we’re taking now, he’ll be in an adequate spot for the rest of the season and beyond.”
The Dodgers were hoping that four consecutive days off would help Ohtani last week, but when he returned, he went 0-for-3 and complained of biceps soreness, prompting the Dodgers to keep him out of the lineup the next two games before deciding to place him on the IL.
“It was more just really huddling up,” Roberts said, “and saying, ‘Hey, how are you going to feel on Friday? How are you going to feel on Saturday?’ And talking to the doctors and training staff, there was not much certainty that he’d be in a much better place. So I think that with that, just taking it off the table, seemed like the best course of action.”
The Dodgers, in hindsight, wish they had placed Ohtani on the injured list last week instead of waiting.
“I think if we look right now, here today, I would love to go back and put him on the IL,” Roberts said. “But I did feel at that moment in time, we all felt that giving him four days was sufficient. He was agreeable.”
Ohtani, who has not pitched since July 3, has also been badly compromised as a hitter, batting just .198 (19-for-96) with a .689 OPS and 34 strikeouts since Aug. 8.
Despite the injuries and struggles with Ohtani, who has just nine at-bats this month, the Dodgers have been steamrolling the opposition. They won all seven games on their homestand, and have a magic number of just six to clinch their 13th National League West title in 14 seasons.
Now, with a four-game lead over Atlanta, they want to make sure they retain their spot in the standings as the No. 2 seed in the National League. The Dodgers, who have the second-best record in the National League at 89-57, are in strong position to get a first-round bye in the postseason. They have four fewer losses than Atlanta (85-61), which has the third-best record behind the Milwaukee Brewers (91-56).
De Paula, 21, the Dodgers’ top prospect and the sixth-best in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, is scheduled to join the team Friday in Miami. He is the first Dodgers prospect in the Andrew Friedman era to be called up straight from Class AA Tulsa, skipping Triple-A Oklahoma City. He hit .303 with 27 home runs, 104 RBI, 31 stolen bases, and a .948 OPS, and established himself as one of the top 15 prospects in baseball.
“I know he’s a good kid,” Dodgers All-Star Mookie Betts said. “I’m excited to see him.”
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodgers place Shohei Ohtani on IL and call up top prospect Josue De Paula
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