The Dodgers are signing top outfield prospect Josue De Paula, ESPN’s Alden González reports. Los Angeles is off tomorrow, so the move won’t be made official until the series opener on Friday in Miami. The corresponding moves are unclear, although it is notable that De Paula’s injury comes as Shohei Ohtani was once again out of tonight’s lineup. Ohtani has already been ruled out from pitching again in 2026 and has only made one appearance as a designated hitter over the past week. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters before tonight’s game that it was possible Ohtani would need a 15-day disabled list stint (link via Jack Harris of The California Post). Roberts could provide additional information after the game as the Dodgers are pulling off a big win over Cincinnati. Ohtani has battled discomfort in his left knee for a couple of months and has had pain in his right arm for more than a week. Freddie Freeman was also out of the lineup today due to right knee soreness, although Roberts said it’s not expected to be an IL situation (reported by Fabián Ardaya of The Athletic). Whatever the move, the Dodgers feel the time is right to take a look at one of the best hitters in the minor leagues. De Paula has spent his entire age-21 campaign at the Double-A level, hitting .302/.400/.539 in 583 plate appearances. He has hit 26 home runs, 36 doubles and a pair of triples. De Paula has also stolen 31 bases, although he has been caught 10 times. Baserunning is unlikely to be a big part of De Paula’s game, as scouting reports consider him a below-average runner. However, his hit and power combination is among the best of any player in the minor leagues, as evidenced by his command of generally older Double-A pitchers. De Paula ranks seventh among Texas League hitters (minimum 200 plate appearances) with a .939 OPS. He is the second-youngest player among the league’s top 10 hitters, only older than the Cardinals’ top prospect, Rainiel Rodríguez. De Paula has walked at an excellent 13.7% clip while striking out less than 15% of the time and consistently reaching for more power. The production was strong enough for the Dodgers to move De Paula beyond Triple-A. That’s a rare move for this front office, as The Athletic’s Katie Woo notes, it’s the first time in 12 years under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman that the Dodgers are calling up a position player prospect directly from Double-A. De Paula ranks among the sport’s top 10 prospects as estimated by Baseball America (fourth), MLB Pipeline (sixth) and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (10th). He landed at the bottom of the top 20 on the pre-deadline lists of The Athletic’s Keith Law and FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen/Brendan Gawlowski. De Paula is not going to provide much defensive value; He’s a below-average corner outfielder who some evaluators project as a pure designated hitter. The profile is driven almost exclusively by what he will do in the left-handed batter’s box. There is a chance that De Paula could work his way onto the playoff roster. It’s a common misconception that players need to be on the 40-man roster by Sept. 1 to be eligible for the postseason, but they only need to be in the organization by then. Technically, the Dodgers would need to petition MLB to allow De Paula to be on the playoff roster, but teams receive that permission every year. The Guardians added Chase DeLauter to their 40-man roster on the day of their first-round series last year, for example. Depending on injuries, there could be room for another left-handed bat in October. Ohtani would presumably be activated at the start of the postseason even if he requires a stint on the disabled list. Dalton Rushing appears more questionable after he returned to the shelf with recurring elbow pain related to his partial ACL tear. Teoscar Hernández has also had a mediocre season against right-handed pitching that has led Roberts to flirt with reducing his playing time (although he has been the team’s best hitter over the past two weeks). It’s hard to imagine Kyle Tucker being benched, but he’s in the midst of a replacement-level season. De Paula could at least offer an alternative in right field if Tucker struggles during the first series or two in October. De Paula would have been eligible for the Rule 5 draft this offseason, so he was set to have a spot on the 40-man roster no later than November. The Dodgers are down to 40 men and have no obvious candidate to go on the 60-day disabled list unless Rushing has to be shut down for the season. They will probably need to designate someone for the assignment on Friday. The end-of-season call won’t have major ramifications from a service time perspective. De Paula will accumulate 17 days of service until the end of the season. He will remain a rookie and eligible for the Prospect Promotion Incentive next year. The Dodgers will have him under club control for at least six full seasons if the service time structure does not change in the next collective bargaining agreement. De Paula will not be eligible for arbitration until at least the 2029-30 offseason. Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images.
