LOS ANGELES — Josue De Paula's first trial run in the big leagues has come to an end. For now, at least.
With Shohei Ohtani back in the lineup
for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, Sept. 23 against the San Diego Padres and manager Dave Roberts wanting to get a look at other players competing for a spot on the postseason roster, Roberts said the choice to option De Paula to Triple-A Oklahoma City was easier than it might've appeared on the surface."This was the original thought," Roberts said. "That once Shohei gets back, we were going to send (De Paula) out. We had a runway to give him, which we gave him, and he performed more than admirably."
Even that might be an understatement to how well De Paula played.
In a small sample size of 11 games,
the 21-year-old showed a confidence and poise beyond his years in the batter's box, controlling the strike zone like a seasoned vet and drawing 11 walks. And once the hits started falling, De Paula showed how dangerous he can really be, mashing three doubles and a home run (his first MLB hit in Miami) while driving in seven RBIs and posting a 1.081 OPS across 31 at-bats. His last regular season game in LA on Tuesday may have been his best yet as De Paula went 2-for-3 with a walk and his first career triple in a 7-0, series-opening win over the Padres.
He's played so well, in fact, that Roberts is seriously considering him for the postseason roster.
"He's a part of that conversation," Roberts said. "He's earned that."
De Paula's value goes beyond the stat sheet, too. Whether he's flipping the bat and yelling, "I really do this!" to his teammates in the dugout after hitting his first career home run, flexing after driving in a go-ahead run on a double or just nodding his head after not chasing a ball outside the zone, there's a level of swag De Paula brings to Dodger Stadium that not only energizes his older teammates, but also captivates fans in attendance every time "Hypnotize" by The Notorious B.I.G. blares over the loudspeakers when the Brooklyn native walks up to the plate.
Per MLB rules, a player who has been optioned can be eligible to play in the postseason as long as his club did so at least 10 days before a series. Optioning De Paula Wednesday would make him eligible to play in the NLDS, Game 1 of which starts on Saturday, Oct. 3, exactly 10 days from now.
That gives the Dodgers flexibility to evaluate the rest of the players vying for a spot in October with limited at-bats to go around in their remaining five games. Roberts specifically mentioned that he wants to get more reps for Miguel Rojas and Kiké Hernández, but the player that De Paula is most directly competing with is probably Dalton Rushing. He's been on the IL since Sept. 5 with right elbow discomfort but is expected to be activated ahead of the final regular season series in San Francisco this weekend.
Rushing won't catch again this season, so his best shot at making the playoff roster is as a lefty bat off the bench, which is the role De Paula would also have, given that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman mentioned they currently view De Paula as a DH until his defense develops and he can be the capable corner outfielder they believe he can be one day. The Dodgers are unlikely to carry both De Paula and Rushing in October.
But while Rushing, Rojas and Hernández try to make their case in the last few opportunities, De Paula's already made his impression on Dodgers brass.
"Josue's been awesome," Friedman said. "Injected some real-life energy into our team as we got into September and close out the regular season. He handled himself as well as he could possibly do. ... He's done everything he can to put himself in a position to be in the conversation for us as we make our postseason roster."
"He's just a special hitter," Roberts said. "Hitters don't see the ball that quickly out of hand. It's a gift. Just the ability to (not) chase, I think that lines up in the postseason and no moment's gonna be too big for that kid."
De Paula joins the Comets in the middle of the Triple-A playoffs, but Roberts has basically seen enough from the rookie. The onus now lies on the vets.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Josue De Paula sent down by Dodgers but 'special hitter' could still factor into playoff plans
