Morning Java - 09/10: Dodgers Skip Triple-A Entirely for Josue De Paula, Ohtani to the IL Until Sept. 23, Chisholm's Thumb Sends Volpe Back
TL;DRSkim
The five fastest-moving roster calls of the morning, in priority order:
- ADD — Josue De Paula is being called up straight from Double-A, joining the Dodgers Friday in Miami. A top-10 prospect in baseball who hit .303/.401/.547 with 27 homers and 31 steals at Tulsa.
- WATCH — Shohei Ohtani is on the 15-day IL with knee, biceps and neck issues. Earliest return is Sept. 23 — roughly five games — and Roberts is "very" confident he's ready for October.
- DROP — Jazz Chisholm Jr. sprained his right thumb sliding into second; no baseball activities for 7-10 days. You're losing 40 stolen bases.
- ADD — Anthony Volpe is recalled from Triple-A today and takes over at second base after slashing .284/.381/.642 with 11 homers since his August demotion.
- HOLD — Aaron Judge collected his first hit since returning, a single in the third.
Dodgers Call Up De Paula Straight From Double-A
ADD · LAD · OF
Josue De Paula is getting the call, and the way he's getting it is the story. The 21-year-old left-handed outfielder is skipping Triple-A entirely — the first position player Los Angeles has promoted directly from Double-A in Andrew Friedman's 12-year tenure as president of baseball operations. He joins the club Friday in Miami for the opener of a three-game series.
The numbers earned it. Across 124 games at Double-A Tulsa, De Paula slashed .303/.401/.547 with 27 home runs, 104 RBI, 37 doubles and 31 stolen bases, drawing 81 walks against 87 strikeouts for a .948 OPS. That walk-to-strikeout ratio at age 21 is the part scouts keep pointing at. He homered Wednesday night in Tulsa's 10-1 win at Northwest Arkansas.
He's the Dodgers' No. 1 prospect and sits inside the top 10 in baseball on most lists — fourth on Baseball America, sixth on MLB Pipeline, 10th on ESPN's. Pipeline calls him the most advanced young hitter the organization has had since Corey Seager, and the comp floating around is a smaller, more athletic Yordan Alvarez. Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2022, he was the Futures Game MVP last year.
The knock is defense. He's a corner outfielder still learning the position, and has been working with Jason Heyward, now in the Dodgers' front office. Expect Los Angeles to give him starts primarily against right-handers as they evaluate whether he can help in October. The opening exists because Ohtani is going on the IL, Freddie Freeman is banged up, and Dalton Rushing's IL stint left the club short of left-handed bats off the bench.
Action: ADD in dynasty immediately — this is a top-10 overall prospect arriving three years early. In redraft, he's a speculative add in 14-team-plus leagues only: a Double-A hitter facing big-league pitching for the first time, in a platoon, with two weeks left. The dynasty case is enormous; the September case is modest.
Ohtani to the 15-Day IL, Earliest Return Sept. 23
WATCH · LAD · DH
Shohei Ohtani is going on the injured list after missing six of the Dodgers' last seven games with knee soreness, biceps discomfort and a neck issue. Dave Roberts confirmed the move after Wednesday's 14-1 win over Cincinnati. As a two-way player he must go on the 15-day IL, making Sept. 23 his earliest possible return — about five regular-season games.
The trigger was Monday. Ohtani returned to the lineup, went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts, and told the club he felt pain in his right arm on one of his swings. He was out again Tuesday, and the Dodgers stopped waiting. "We tried to kick the can as much as we could," Roberts said, calling the move "the right thing to do."
For anyone holding him: Roberts said he's "very" confident Ohtani will be ready when the postseason starts. "If it were a postseason game tomorrow, he would be in the lineup. Now you're talking about two weeks, 14 days. I feel that it's that substantial." He's already been shut down from pitching for the year.
Los Angeles is 89-57 with the NL West effectively decided and a three-game cushion over Atlanta for the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye, so there's no incentive to rush. Freddie Freeman is separately day-to-day with right knee soreness and out of the lineup, with Will Smith taking the DH at-bats.
Action: IL-stash — do not drop him. If your league's playoffs run into the final week, he's back Sept. 23. Only consider cutting in a shallow redraft league with no IL slot and a must-win week right now.
Chisholm to IL With Sprained Thumb
DROP · NYY · 2B
Jazz Chisholm Jr. sprained his right thumb sliding into second base during Tuesday's 5-3 win over Colorado and lands on the 10-day IL with no baseball activities for 7 to 10 days. He stayed active Wednesday as a pinch-running option and did appear in that role.
What you're losing matters more than the batting line. Chisholm was hitting .232/.312/.403 with 19 homers and 55 RBI in 134 games — but with 40 stolen bases. In roto leagues chasing steals, that's the category hit. The timing is awkward for New York too, with a four-game series against Tampa Bay looming.
Action: DROP in shallow redraft leagues — 7-10 days without baseball activities plus a ramp-up consumes most of what's left. IL-stash in roto formats where his speed still matters if he returns for the final week.
Volpe Recalled, Takes Over at Second
ADD · NYY · 2B/SS
Anthony Volpe was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and joins the Yankees today for the series finale against Colorado. It's his second callup of 2026 — the first came in May when José Caballero broke a finger.
The minor-league run has been legitimate. Volpe was optioned in early August after slashing .240/.325/.322 across 56 games in the Bronx, and since the demotion he's hit .284/.381/.642 with 11 home runs in 37 games, a .906 OPS, including a .440 September. He's the reigning International League Player of the Week after going 11-for-21 with three doubles and three homers.
He's also been playing mostly second base, with one error in his first 19 games there, which is why Boone named him the fit. "He's been really productive down there and playing really well. He has taken well to the other positions." Note that shortstop is no longer his — George Lombard Jr. has the job and the Yankees view him as the long-term answer.
Action: ADD in 12-team and deeper leagues. The hot streak is real and the playing time is guaranteed for at least 10 days. Temper it slightly: he hit .240 with one home run in 56 big-league games this year, so the Triple-A power may not travel.
Judge Collects First Hit Since Returning
HOLD · NYY · RF
Aaron Judge singled to left in the third inning for his first hit since returning from an 84-game absence — his fifth at-bat across the two games since activation, and it came on the eighth pitch of a full count.
Ken Rosenthal cautioned that the Yankees need to build Judge back carefully despite his own push to play, so expect scattered rest and DH days over the next week.
Action: HOLD and start him. A patient eight-pitch at-bat is a better sign than the result. Don't panic over a slow first week — the pre-injury line was .248/.375/.533 with a 150 wRC+.
Warren's Velocity Up for a Third Straight Start
ADD · NYY · SP
Will Warren (40% owned) threw six innings of one-run ball on five hits and a walk with eight strikeouts — his second consecutive strong start, on a career-high 104 pitches. His velocity has ticked up in each of his last three outings.
Action: ADD in 12-team leagues. Two good starts plus a rising fastball at 40% ownership is worth claiming before the price moves. His season ERA still reflects an uneven year, so treat him as a matchup start rather than a lock.
Fairbanks Activated, Reclaims Closer Role
ADD · MIA · RP
Pete Fairbanks (37% owned) has been activated and takes back the ninth inning for Miami, displacing the interim fill-in.
Action: ADD in every league where saves count and he's available. A confirmed closer at 37% ownership with two weeks left is the most valuable relief claim on this board.
Contreras Set for Portland Rehab Friday
WATCH · BOS · C
Willson Contreras is eligible to come off the 10-day IL later this week and is scheduled for a Double-A Portland rehab game Friday, with a possible second Saturday. He's been dealing with a strained left hamstring for more than a month.
Action: WATCH — Add him to your watch list for a weekend activation. A hamstring that's lingered a month on a catcher warrants confirmation he's actually catching before you start him.
Rutschman Gets Cortisone, Targets Friday
WATCH · BOS · C
Adley Rutschman received a cortisone injection in his hyperextended elbow after Monday's game. Boston has held him out since, and he's expected back in the lineup Friday.
Action: WATCH — Mark him for Friday. Cortisone in an elbow is a management step, not a fix, so watch for recurrence over the final two weeks.
Winn Scratched a Day After Activation
WATCH · STL · SS
Masyn Winn (5% owned) was scratched with left thumb soreness one day after being activated from the IL, where he'd been out with a fractured left thumb. He remains day-to-day.
Action: WATCH — Do not add. A scratch the day after activation on the same injury says the thumb isn't right, with only two weeks to find out.
Carroll Getting MRI on Lower Back
WATCH · ARI · OF
Corbin Carroll will have an MRI on his lower back today after being scratched from the Sept. 8 lineup with low-back discomfort.
Action: WATCH — Hold and wait for imaging. Back issues on a speed-dependent player tend to suppress steals even after a return.
Bennett Allows Three Homers in Loss
WATCH · BOS · SP
Jake Bennett (46% owned) took the loss after surrendering three home runs, the most in any of his big-league starts.
Action: WATCH — Bench him against power lineups. The strikeout stuff is intact, but this is a matchup-dependent arm.
Ryan Johnson Reaches Career-High Pitch Count
HOLD · LAA · SP
Ryan Johnson reached a career-high 104 pitches over six innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts. He carries a 2.11 ERA over his last seven starts spanning 38.1 innings.
Action: HOLD in 14-team-plus formats. A seven-start run this good deserves attention, but the workload is climbing on a young arm for a team going nowhere — watch for an innings cap.
Wilyer Abreu Sets Career High With 24th Homer
HOLD · BOS · RF
Wilyer Abreu hit his 24th home run, a new career high.
Action: HOLD — Rostered in most formats and producing.
Roman Anthony Breaks Out With Homer
HOLD · BOS · OF
Roman Anthony hit a no-doubt homer to right, his third since returning from the IL, snapping a slump.
Action: ADD in 14-team leagues if available. Three homers since activation is meaningful for a young bat that had gone quiet.
Neto Homers for Second Straight Night
HOLD · LAA · SS
Zach Neto hit a three-run homer, his second big night in a row after going 4-for-5 with a two-run shot Tuesday.
Action: HOLD and start him. He's been the Angels' most productive bat this week.
Eli White Getting Foot Imaging
WATCH · WSH · OF
Eli White is undergoing imaging on a sore foot after crashing into the center-field wall Tuesday night. An IL stint is possible depending on results.
Action: WATCH — No action until the diagnosis lands.
Maikel Garcia Begins Rehab Thursday
WATCH · KC · 3B
Maikel Garcia starts a rehab assignment today with Triple-A Omaha, pointing toward activation this weekend or early next week.
Action: WATCH — Hold the IL slot. A weekend return still leaves usable games.
Holton Rolling in Relief
WATCH · DET · RP
Tyler Holton (1% owned) has allowed one earned run over 11 innings with 10 strikeouts across his last 10 appearances.
Action: WATCH, leaning ADD in holds leagues. Elite recent work, but he's not the closer — don't chase saves here.
Kody Clemens Hits 26th, Five Against Detroit
HOLD · MIN · 2B
Kody Clemens homered for his 26th of the season, five of which have come against the Tigers.
Action: HOLD — A career year in power.
Keibert Ruiz Reaches 10 Homers
HOLD · WSH · C
Keibert Ruiz hit his 10th home run to give Washington a 1-0 lead.
Action: HOLD in two-catcher leagues. Useful volume at the position, though short of his career best.
Blue Jays Fall to .500
WATCH · TOR · TEAM
Toronto lost its series to the Athletics, dropping to 73-73 and leaving the Blue Jays outside a tightly bunched AL wild-card field.
Action: WATCH — No individual roster impact, but a team drifting toward elimination is worth tracking for September rest days among its regulars.