The Los Angeles Dodgers will place superstar Shohei Ohtani on the injured list to rest his left knee and right biceps, manager Dave Roberts said.
Roberts said the Dodgers will call up outfield prospect Josue De Paula from Double-A Tulsa. De Paula, who is MLB Pipeline’s No. 6 overall prospect, is expected to join the team on Friday in Miami.
Roberts’ comments came after Los Angeles’ 14-1 rout of the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday. Ohtani was held out of the starting lineup for the sixth time in the last seven games.
Ohtani must be placed on the 15-day injured list given that he is a two-way player. Therefore, the soonest he can return is Sept. 23 given that his last appearance with the team was on Monday.
“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, 21, is batting .303 with a .948 OPS, 27 home runs, 104 RBIs, 106 runs and 31 stolen bases in 124 games at Tulsa.
Ohtani, 32, is 2-for-26 (.077) with no extra-base hits and no RBIs in his past seven games.
The four-time MVP hasn’t pitched since July 3, primarily because of the knee ailment. He had been progressing in a throwing program, but Monday night he said he “most likely” won’t pitch again this year. “I am going to be focused on hitting moving forward,” he said.
Overall this year, the six-time All-Star is hitting .277 with a .380 on-base percentage, a .522 slugging percentage, 30 homers and 80 RBIs in 130 games.
In 14 pitching starts, Ohtani has an 8-2 record with a 1.79 ERA, 95 strikeouts and 26 walks in 85 2/3 innings.
