Dodgers find loophole to keep top prospect for MLB Playoff run after activating Shohei Ohtani
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Dodgers find loophole to keep top prospect for MLB Playoff run after activating Shohei Ohtani originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are gearing up for their postseason run and have all but secured a first-round bye in the playoffs. Things seemed a little uncertain over the last couple of weeks with some key injuries to the team.
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The biggest of them all was Shohei Ohtani being placed on the injured list. Earlier this month, the Dodgers made the decision to send their superstar to the IL to heal whatever was bothering him.
“The Dodgers are placing Shohei Ohtani on the injured list. He must go on the 15-day IL as a two-way player. The earliest he can return is Sept. 23. The wild-card round starts Sept. 29. The NLDS would start Oct. 3. Josue De Paula will likely replace Ohtani as the everyday DH," Dodgers reporter Noah Camras wrote.
On Wednesday afternoon, LA decided to activate Ohtani and send Josue De Paula back down.
“Shohei Ohtani was activated off the injured list Wednesday, as expected, and batted second against opposing left-hander Robbie Ray, part of a leadoff platoon the Los Angeles Dodgers are experimenting with now that Mookie Betts is surging offensively. With Ohtani back, the Dodgers sent their top prospect, Josue De Paula, down to Triple-A, where he can get at-bats for a team currently playing in a championship series,” ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez wrote.
With De Paula going back down to Triple-A, he would be eligible to be called up again in 10 days, which lines up with the beginning of the Dodgers' first playoff game. However, he wasn’t added to the 40-man roster until after Sept. 1, making him ineligible under the normal postseason eligibility rules.
There is a way he can be added to the postseason roster, though, which would be by replacing a player on the injured list. The Dodgers do have multiple players on the 60-day IL who could potentially open that path.
“De Paula can be granted it if he is replacing a player on either the 10-day or 60- day IL who has served the minimum time required for activation. The Dodgers have several candidates on the 60-day IL who qualify,” The Athletic’s Katie Woo wrote.
De Paula does have a chance at making the postseason roster for LA after impressing during the week and a half he spent with the team. The Dodgers are going to weigh all of their options before making a decision.
LA does have a way to get De Paula on the postseason roster, even though it is buried deep in the rulebook. Last October, it was rookie Roki Sasaki becoming a closer who helped the Dodgers make a deep playoff run. This October, it could be a rookie bat that gives them another boost at the right time.
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