Ohtani to IL as Dodgers Call Up De Paula

Shohei Ohtani is headed to the 15-day injured list. After Wednesday's 14-1 rout of the Cincinnati Reds, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters the two-way star is going on the IL with right biceps and left knee issues, and Los Angeles is calling up top prospect Josue De Paula to take the DH at-bats, per MLB Trade Rumors, USA Today, and the LA Times.

That is a September reset, not a season funeral. As a two-way player Ohtani has to use the pitcher IL (15 days), not the 10-day position-player list. Backdated to Monday's appearance, he is eligible around Sep. 23, which leaves a short runway of regular-season games before October.

Biceps flare after a careful week

Ohtani sat six of the past seven games while the arm and knee barked. He returned Monday, went 0-for-3, then sat again. Roberts said the plan was to play Wednesday until Ohtani flagged right-arm pain from a Monday swing. The knee already parked his pitching since early July and helped scrap any late mound return. Lately the bat went cold too: TSN noted a .902 OPS with 30 homers and 11 steals on the year, but only seven hits and 22 strikeouts over his past 54 at-bats.

Roberts framed the choice as timing. If it were a postseason game tomorrow, he still would write Ohtani into the lineup. With two empty weeks on the calendar, 14 days of real rest puts the star in a better place for October than another week of half-measures.

De Paula gets the DH keys

De Paula, 21, comes from Double-A Tulsa after a .302/.400/.539 slash with 26 homers and 31 steals, per the LA Times. Roberts and the front office expect him to handle the lion's share of DH work, with his MLB debut lined up Friday in Miami. The Dodgers just finished a 7-2 homestand and sit at 89-57 after the Reds sweep. They can afford a clean Ohtani reset more than another week of day-to-day guessing.

For Dodgers fans, this is the hard call that protects October. Ohtani leads the clubhouse resume and still owns 30 homers, but the biceps issue after Monday forced the issue. De Paula gets a September audition in the middle of a pennant push. Ohtani gets two weeks to quiet the arm and knee. If the calendar sticks, he is back for the Padres series and a short tune-up before the playoffs. That is the board Los Angeles just chose.

Roberts said talking to Ohtani, the doctors, and the training staff made it "the right thing to do" after the club had kicked the can as far as it could. The 14-1 win over Cincinnati still counted. The bigger win is walking into Miami with a rested MVP timeline and a top prospect ready to swing.