Josue De Paula Was Caught Off Guard by Dodgers' Decision

The 21-year-old is the first Dodgers outfielder called up from Double-A at midseason since Yasiel Puig.

Sep 12, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Josue de Paula (95) walks through the dugout before the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Isabella Frias-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It's rare for the Los Angeles Dodgers to promote a top prospect directly from Double-A to the big leagues. They did so in June 2013 with Yasiel Puig, but that was under a different general manager.

De Paula might not have been aware of that history. Still, he was not expecting to be promoted to the major leagues when Shohei Ohtani was placed on the injured list.

De Paula said in Miami that Tulsa Drillers manager Eric Wedge "basically told me, ‘Hey, we’re going to get you on a flight tomorrow, ‘You’re going to be with the big boys.’ I was in disbelief. … I was like, ‘What, going up where?’

"It took me off guard, but when it happened, I was so happy.”

De Paula was hitting .303/.401/.547 at Double-A Tulsa prior to his promotion. He went 0-for-5 with three walks in his first two games before hitting his first career home run on Sunday in a 2-for-2 performance.

Despite his success in the minor leagues, De Paula was far from certain he would be a big leaguer before 2027.

“I was never 100% sure," he told reporters Friday in Miami. "I always had it in the back of my mind it could happen. I never tried to think too much about it. … I wasn’t really thinking about it because we really only had about four days left before the season ends. So I was just thinking – four days, playoffs and then go home.”

The Dodgers lost Ohtani to the injured list at an inopportune time. He played only one game in the week leading up to his IL placement and now must wait at least 15 days to get back — just before the postseason begins, in a best-case scenario.

That makes the timing of De Paula's promotion interesting. The Dodgers almost certainly would not carry three left-handed hitting players without a position on their postseason roster if he, Ohtani, and Dalton Rushing (partially torn UCL in his right elbow) are all healthy.

Unlike Rushing and Ohtani, De Paula can at least stand in right or left field if asked. Although defense isn't his strong suit, the timing of the injuries to Rushing and Ohtani make De Paula's postseason debut at least a possibility for 2026.

“Well, anything’s possible, but I think the first part of it [is] there is a little bit of a runway now with Shohei on the IL, and we can get him some major league at-bats and see how that looks,” Roberts said.

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