09/10/26 01:11:00
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09/10 01:09 CDT A sudden IL stint for Shohei Ohtani, and an unprecedented
Double-A call-up to fill his spot
A sudden IL stint for Shohei Ohtani, and an unprecedented Double-A call-up to
fill his spot
By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- Shohei Ohtani is headed to the 15-day injured list with
right arm discomfort, leaving the streaking Los Angeles Dodgers without the
four-time MVP as they close in on their 13th NL West title in 14 years.
Manager Dave Roberts announced the move late Wednesday, saying, "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."
Ohtani isn't expected back until the Dodgers host the San Diego Padres in a
three-game set beginning Sept. 22. He won't travel on the team's seven-game
East Coast trip starting Friday.
"I do think that if the playoffs were tomorrow, he'd be in the lineup," Roberts
said. "I'm pretty confident that he'll be ready to go on that 15th day."
Ohtani was out of the lineup for the sixth time in seven games on Wednesday
night, when the Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds 14-1 to complete a sweep and
win their seventh in a row.
Ohtani has been managing lingering soreness in his right biceps and left knee
for weeks now, but he waited until after Tuesday night's game to tell the
training staff he felt something in his arm after playing Monday.
"There was a swing Monday that he didn't feel great on, hasn't totally
recovered from Monday," Roberts said before the game.
While the Dodgers are back East, Ohtani will remain in Los Angeles and resume
hitting after a two or three-day rest to "calm his arm down," Roberts said.
"Let's get his body feeling well and then slowly ramp back up because now we do
have time," Roberts said.
In an unprecedented move, the Dodgers will call up Josue De Paula from Double-A
Tulsa to fill Ohtani's roster spot. He'll make his major league debut Friday at
Miami as the designated hitter.
The team has never called up a position player directly from Double-A, but
Roberts is confident their 21-year-old top prospect from the Dominican Republic
can handle the pressure.
"I think that our player development group is very confident in his ability to
conduct an at-bat. You could argue that the talent in Double-A is similar to
Triple-A as far as pure arms and arm talent," Roberts said. "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."
When Ohtani returns, he would have six games and some live batting sessions to
prepare before the postseason begins and the Dodgers open their bid for a third
consecutive World Series championship.
"It's certainly not ideal," Roberts admitted. "The most important thing is him
being as healthy as possible, not compromising his swing, and kind of bet on
that."
Ohtani took swings in the batting cage on Tuesday night, when he was available
to pinch-hit.
Roberts confirmed the team has stressed to Ohtani the need for him to speak up
immediately about any physical issues he may have.
"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," Roberts said before the game.
Roberts expressed some regret about not putting Ohtani on the IL last week.
"I would love to go back and put him on the IL," he said. "But I did feel at
that moment in time, we all felt that giving him four days was sufficient. He
was agreeable."
Also out of the lineup Wednesday was first baseman Freddie Freeman, whose right
knee has been bothering him. He made a rare appearance as the designated hitter
on Tuesday, going 0 for 2 with a strikeout in a 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati
Reds.
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