The Los Angeles Dodgers transferred Eric Lauer to the 60-day injured list to make room on their 40-man roster to call up top prospect Josue De Paula. Shohei Ohtani was also placed on the 15-day IL to make room on the active roster for De Paula.
The Dodgers first placed Lauer on the 15-day IL on Sept. 2 due to left elbow inflammation. It came one day after he allowed seven runs on eight hits in just three innings against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Dodgers shut down Lauer from throwing for a few days and planned to revisit his injury in two weeks.
However, by landing on the 60-day IL, Lauer’s season is now over. The southpaw is not eligible to be activated until Nov. 1, one day after Game 7 of the World Series.
Lauer went 7-2 with a 4.50 ERA in 14 games (12 starts) for the Dodgers while providing them with innings while they had multiple pitchers on the injured list.
He was acquired on May 17 from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for cash considerations. Lauer was 1-5 with a 6.69 ERA in eight games for the Blue Jays.
The veteran was subject to trade rumors ahead of the deadline after pitching well for the Dodgers, but the club decided to keep him given that was Lauer’s preference and was open to any role with the team.
He still faced an uphill battle to make the postseason roster, even if he didn’t suffer any injury.
Josue De Paula’s first game
De Paula is set to make his MLB debut after quickly rising through the prospect rankings and becoming one of the highest regarded players in the Minor Leagues.
He hit .303/.401/.547 with 37 doubles, 27 home runs, and 104 RBI over 124 games with the Drillers this season and becomes the first position player promoted to the Major Leagues from Double-A by Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
De Paula shattered his previous career highs in doubles (17), homers (12) and RBI (62) as his bat continued to improve, although the glove leaves a lot to be desired and he will see the majority of his time as the designated hitter.
“The bat has always played,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on SportsNet LA. “I think for me, the growth has been the baserunning; I think he stole 30 bases this year. The attention on the defensive side, I think we’ve seen some real growth. That’s really what’s excited me.”
The aggressive move to promote De Paula comes as they were in need of a left-handed bat with Freddie Freeman dealing with a knee injury, while Ohtani and Dalton Rushing are also on the shelf.
The Dodgers needed to add De Paula to the 40-man roster this offseason as well, which gave him the edge in being promoted over the likes of James Tibbs III and other players.
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