The Los Angeles Dodgers will be without Shohei Ohtani for at least part of the stretch run to the playoffs. Manager Dave Roberts announced late Wednesday night that the four-time MVP is going on the injured list with right arm discomfort.
Ohtani, 32, has missed six of the last seven games while dealing with lingering soreness in his right biceps and left knee. Roberts said Ohtani felt something new in his arm after a swing during Monday’s game.
“There was a swing Monday that he didn’t feel great on, hasn’t totally recovered from Monday,” Roberts said before Wednesday’s game. “In talking to Shohei, the doctors, the training staff, it’s the right thing to do. We tried to kick the can as much as we could.”
Roberts said that if the postseason started Thursday, Ohtani would still be in the lineup, and he expects the two-way star to come off the injured list on the 15th day of his stint. Ohtani will not travel with the team for its upcoming East Coast road trip and will instead rest for two or three days to “calm his arm down” before slowly ramping back up.
If Ohtani returns on the 15th day, that would put him back on Sept. 22, leaving him just six games to get reacclimated to live pitching before the Dodgers begin their bid for a third straight World Series title.
“It’s certainly not ideal,” Roberts said. “The most important thing is him being as healthy as possible, not compromising his swing, and kind of bet on that.”
Roberts also acknowledged, in hindsight, that the team might have acted sooner. Ohtani was previously given four days off to rest before returning to the lineup.
“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.” He added: “The concern is that after four days (off) and then to take four at-bats and to feel something in an at-bat where we can’t keep going forward, I think that’s disappointing.”
Ohtani had been putting together another MVP-level season. In 130 games, he is batting .277 with 30 home runs, 80 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. On the mound, he went 8-2 across 14 starts with a 1.79 ERA over 85 2/3 innings before the injury shut him down.
With Ohtani sidelined, Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong now becomes the leading favorite for the National League MVP award.
To fill Ohtani’s roster spot, the Dodgers called up top prospect Josue De Paula directly from Double-A. The 21-year-old from the Dominican Republic will serve as designated hitter against the Miami Marlins. It marks the first time the organization has promoted a position player straight from Double-A to the majors.
“I think that our player development group is very confident in his ability to conduct an at-bat,” Roberts said. “You could argue that the talent in Double-A is similar to Triple-A as far as pure arms and arm talent. We’ve seen him in camp for two or three years. He doesn’t run from velocity. He controls the strike zone. This is just a good opportunity for him to kind of cut his teeth in the big leagues.”
