The Los Angeles Dodgers optioned outfielder Josue De Paula to the minor leagues despite his strong MLB cameo over the past few series. De Paula, 21, is the Dodgers' No. 1 prospect and the No. 6 prospect in MLB, and came to the majors Sept. 11 for the Dodgers' series against the Miami Marlins. He joined the team when reigning MVP Shohei Ohtani went down with a biceps injury, but has filled the superstar's shoes extremely well across his 11 games in MLB.
He has one homer and seven RBIs on the year, posting an unbelievable .500 on-base percentage and an OPS above 1.000. Despite his strong performances, though, the Dodgers sent him back down upon Ohtani's return on Wednesday. De Paula is yet to play a game for Triple-A Oklahoma City, as the Dodgers pulled him up to the majors directly from Double-A, where he had a fantastic season.
He hit 27 homers and tallied 104 RBIs over the course of 124 games in Double-A, and had a .948 OPS over the course of the year. Triple-A Oklahoma City's season could potentially end Wednesday, as they lost the first game of a Best-of-3 series against the Las Vegas Aviators on Tuesday, but De Paula will bat second in what could be their last game of the season. The Dodgers only have so many spots on their active roster, and didn't have many other options to send down to the minors.
Other than De Paula, the only feasible player to make room for Ohtani would be Alex Call, though the Dodgers clearly value his veteran presence. While De Paula isn't with the team at the moment, he could still earn a spot on the postseason roster, per Katie Woo of The Athletic. He and Dalton Rushing are likely to battle over the spot, as Rushing is expected to make his way back to the team at some point over the next few days after spending some time on the injured list.
If Rushing isn't in top shape upon his return, though, the Dodgers are likely to place him on the injured list and send an injury exemption request to the Commissioner's Office to allow De Paula to partake in the postseason.
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