Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing will make his return from the IL on Friday, but doesn't have much time to make an impact before October. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed the workload Rushing will have prior to Thursday's matchup against the San Diego Padres, and said the second-year player will get a maximum of three at-bats to prove he deserves a spot on the postseason roster. Roberts added his results for the rest of the year prior to his injury will play a part as well.
Rushing suffered a partial UCL tear earlier in the season, landing on the injured list Aug. 3. He made his return nearly a month later, but reaggravated the same injury just a few days later—landing back on the injured list Sept. 6. Prior to his injury, Rushing had a fantastic year at the plate for the Dodgers.
Through July, he had a .820 OPS with 12 homers and 36 RBIs over the course of 74 games played. During his four-game stretch between injured list stints, he went hitless in four at-bats with three strikeouts. The 25-year-old is fighting for a spot on the postseason roster with breakout prospect Josue De Paula, who went down to Triple-A on Wednesday after an extremely successful stint in the bigs.
De Paula appeared in 11 games following Shohei Ohtani's move to the injured list Sept. 11, and made a huge impact on the team. He logged 10 hits in 31 at-bats, hitting one homer and driving in seven runs. De Paula had a .500 on-base percentage during his short stay in the bigs, posting a 1.081 OPS over the course of his 11 games with the Dodgers.
He played in his first Triple-A game on Wednesday, appearing in a playoff bout between the Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets and Las Vegas Aviators, and scored a run while reaching base via base on ball twice. While he is just 21 years old, he could play a key role for the Dodgers in the postseason if Rushing doesn't prove his worth over his brief window the Dodgers granted him.
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