The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Shohei Ohtani on the 15-day injured list Wednesday night after their 14-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds, citing right-arm discomfort. The Los Angeles Times reported that the club is targeting September 22 for his return against San Diego, but that date is a target rather than a guarantee.
The roster replacement gives the Dodgers’ September stretch run a distinctly developmental look: Josue De Paula, a 21-year-old outfielder who had been playing for Double-A Tulsa, was called up to Los Angeles. The move puts one of the organization’s youngest high-level position players into a major-league race while Ohtani recovers.
From Tulsa to a contender
De Paula’s promotion follows a substantial season at Tulsa. The Dodgers have used the Tulsa Drillers as their Double-A affiliate since 2015, according to Minor League Baseball, making the club an important step in the organization’s path toward Los Angeles.
Before the call-up, De Paula was hitting .302/.400/.539 with 26 home runs and 31 stolen bases at Double-A, according to the Times. The Tulsa Drillers and Minor League Baseball also documented his 25th home run of the season on August 23. Those figures describe a productive minor-league campaign, but they do not establish how frequently he will play or what role the Dodgers intend to give him.
Minor League Baseball lists De Paula as born May 24, 2005, in Brooklyn, New York. That makes the promotion notable not because it proves a historical first, a claim not established by the available records, but because it places a very young player directly into a roster shaped by postseason demands.
A roster move with room for patience
Ohtani had already missed six of the Dodgers’ previous seven games with the ailment, and the Times reported that he had not homered or driven in a run since August 18. He led the Dodgers with 30 home runs and 80 RBIs before the injury-list placement, so De Paula is not being asked to reproduce one player’s production by himself.
The Dodgers entered the final road trip of the regular season with a magic number of six to clinch their fifth consecutive National League West title, according to the Times. That standing gives Los Angeles some flexibility, but it does not remove the uncertainty around Ohtani’s recovery, his eventual availability, or De Paula’s adjustment to the majors.
Ohtani’s pitching schedule was already separate from this roster decision: the Times reported that he had not pitched in a major-league game since July 3, while FOX Sports reported that his most recent mound session came August 28. The current injured-list placement concerns his designated-hitter role, and the available reporting does not establish a new structural diagnosis.
For now, the Dodgers are managing two timelines at once. Ohtani has a reported return target as the club protects its most important hitter, while De Paula gets an opportunity created by an injury rather than by a routine September audition. The next meaningful questions are how Ohtani responds to rest and how much the 21-year-old can contribute after making the jump from Tulsa to a contender.
