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Josue De Paula won’t finish the regular season on the Dodgers’ active roster.
But he should still have the inside track for a postseason roster spot.
On Wednesday, De Paula was optioned by the club back to the minor leagues to make room on the active roster for Shohei Ohtani’s return from the injured list, marking the end (for now) of an electrifying 11-game stint for the 21-year-old slugger in his MLB debut.
At first blush, it may seem like a surprise move — given De Paula’s breakout performance over the last two weeks since being called up directly from Double-A as the organization’s top prospect.
However, it was one rendered necessary by other roster considerations — and, importantly, that will still preserve De Paula’s eligibility to return for the playoffs.
Here was the crunch: In addition to Ohtani’s return on Wednesday, the Dodgers are also planning to activate catcher Dalton Rushing from the IL later this week.
That meant two position players were going to be squeezed off the active roster. And while Alex Freeland was one logical choice, identifying another was not so easy.
Other than perhaps optioning outfielder Alex Call, the Dodgers did not have any other feasible candidates to swap out besides De Paula. Another factor: De Paula (who had been filling in as DH in Ohtani’s absence) and Rushing (who is limited to only hitting now due to an elbow injury) would effectively be serving in the same role as left-handed-hitting pinch-hit options, leaving too few at-bats for the two of them to share over the club’s final handful of regular-season games.
The other route, of course, would have been for the Dodgers not to activate Rushing at all, after he missed most of the last two months battling his elbow injury (including a brief return a few weeks ago before he suffered a setback while trying to progress through an ill-fated throwing program).
However, it’s possible Rushing will be needed at some point during October.
Thus, the Dodgers decided that giving him the chance to get at least a few at-bats off the bench now still had value in the run-up to the playoffs.
And by optioning De Paula on Wednesday, the Dodgers ensured he will be eligible for the start of the National League Division Series in 11 days on Oct. 3 (optioned hitters have to wait at least 10 days to return to MLB rosters barring injuries). De Paula could also join Triple-A Oklahoma City in the meantime for at-bats during its Pacific Coast League championship series.
Because De Paula wasn’t on the 40-man roster as of Sept. 1, the Dodgers would have to petition MLB for him to be postseason eligible. But because he was in the organization before then, that represents a mere formality.
The real question is, when the time comes for the Dodgers to set their playoff roster, will it be De Paula or Rushing who claims a role on the bench as a left-handed bat?
Rushing possesses the edge in big-league experience and was having a nice year (.249 average, 12 home runs, 36 RBIs, .798 OPS) prior to his injury.
But De Paula has made a resounding statement since his debut, going 10-for-31 in his first 11 games with five extra-base hits, one home run, seven RBIs and a whopping 11 walks to only five strikeouts; giving him an on-base-percentage of exactly .500 in 42 trips to the plate.
“It’s going to be a good debate,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Hitting off the bench is very difficult, and so you’re just trying to figure out who gives us the best chance.”
That’s part of why the Dodgers are doing this roster maneuvering now, so that they can see how Rushing looks in game action before making any final decisions.
But at this point, even Roberts indicated that De Paula might have the edge.
“To be quite frank, it’s going to be tougher for Dalton given the time that he’s missed,” Roberts said.
“And also, you’re talking about the consistency of at-bats recently from Josue,” he later added, somewhat tellingly.
“So, yeah,” Roberts continued, “we have to have those conversations and make a decision.”
For now, that meant optioning De Paula.
It’d be a surprise, however, if he isn’t back for the playoffs.
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