Shohei Ohtani going on 15-day IL, with Dodgers calling up elite hitting prospect Josue De Paula as replacement

The Los Angeles Dodgers have tried to make it work with Shohei Ohtani over the past week. They've now decided to put their superstar on ice.

After missing six of the Dodgers' last seven games due to a knee issue, Ohtani will be placed on the 15-day injured list, manager Dave Roberts told reporters after Wednesday's game per MLB.com's Sonja Chen . It will be Ohtani's first time on the injured list in three seasons with the Dodgers.

The corresponding move will reportedly be a call-up for top prospect Josue De Paula from Double-A Tulsa, according to ESPN's Alden González . He will reportedly get the "lion's share" of starts at Ohtani's designated hitter spot, though he could also play some outfield.

The Dodgers have been hesitant to place Ohtani on the injured list because it would be for 15 days, like a pitcher, rather than the usual 10 due to his two-player status, leaving him little time to return before the postseason. Assuming his placement is backdated to Tuesday, the day after his last appearance in a game, he won't be eligible to return until Sept. 23.

There will be only five games remaining on the Dodgers' regular season schedule at that point.

Ohtani's knee has been bothering him for months. It's the reason why he hasn't pitched in a game since July 3, with the Dodgers giving him a lubricant injection over the All-Star break. His rehab as a pitcher was a start-and-stop affair as he continued to play nearly every day at designated hitter, but then the injury appeared to affect his hitting. He has hit only 6-for-49 with 21 strikeouts in his past 13 games.

The Dodgers were hoping they could keep Ohtani the hitter while getting a limited version of Ohtani the pitcher back soon. Now they have neither and can only hope Ohtani is healthy come playoff time, and that the layoff doesn't affect him in the batter's box.

A return to pitching already seems out the window for 2026, as Ohtani told reporters on Monday he is "focusing on hitting moving forward."

It's a rough development for Los Angeles, but the club at least had an enviable replacement available at designated hitter.

Josue De Paula could be the Dodgers' next star

MLB Pipeline ranks De Paula as the sixth-best overall prospect in the minor leagues, and the best of the Dodgers' six top 100 prospects (four of whom are outfielders). The 21-year-old could very well be the best hitting prospect in the minors, with Pipeline calling him "the most advanced young hitter Los Angeles has had since Corey Seager ."

De Paula draws comparisons to a slightly smaller but more athletic version of Yordan Alvarez , thanks to his precocious combination of swing decisions and exit velocities. He offered at just 14 percent of pitches outside the strike zone last season — by comparison, Juan Soto led the Majors with a 16 percent rate — and is supremely comfortable working deep counts in order to find pitches he can punish. His sweet left-handed stroke produces hard contact to all fields that should translate into 30 homers per season and perhaps more if he learns to drive balls in the air more consistently.

Let's be perfectly clear: no one should expect Seager, Yordan Alvarez or Juan Soto here. But it can definitely be said that teams like the Dodgers, stocked with enough talent and resources to win back-to-back World Series, should not be capable of adding a young hitter like this.

De Paula also isn't without his limitations, as even the corner outfield might be an optimistic projection for his eventual defensive position. That is, of course, moot if he will be playing designated hitter while he's up.

De Paula, the second cousin of former NBA players Stephon Marbury and Sebastian Telfair, grew up in Brooklyn but moved to the Dominican Republic in high school, allowing the Dodgers to sign him on the international free-agent market for $397,500 in 2022. He entered this season as a consensus top 25 prospect, but has added to his stock with a campaign that includes a .302/.400/.539 slash line with 26 homers and 31 stolen bases.

Whatever his status on the Dodgers come October, De Paula will be eligible for the playoffs, as you only have to be part of the organization on Sept. 1 to get postseason at-bats.