Josue De Paula defensive concerns may not be a long-term Dodgers fear

There has been a lot of talk lately surrounding the defensive concerns of Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder and top prospect Josue De Paula. However, his outfield defense might not be a worry at all in the long-term.

After getting called up to make his MLB debut on September 11, the Dodgers' No. 1 prospect, who is Baseball America's No. 4 prospect on their Top 100 list, only saw six innings in left field with the rest of his playing time coming as the designated hitter.

De Paula, 21, appeared in 11 games and slashed .323/.500/.581 with a 1.081 OPS, one home run, and seven RBI. He replaced Shohei Ohtani, but was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on September 23 once Ohtani returned from the IL.

Why the Dodgers shouldn't be concerned with Josue De Paula's defense

With Ohtani back healthy for the playoffs, De Paula would likely have to pinch-hit or play the outfield in order to see time in October if he is selected to the postseason roster. But can the Dodgers trust De Paula in left field?

Per Baseball America, multiple scouts project De Paula as a 30-grade defender on the 20-to-80 scouting scale. His reads and routes to the ball have been described as "shaky" and he is not considered to be very rangy out there either.

As one Dodgers person put it, "De Paula's defense is a work in progress, but if you saw him play, you would come away knowing he's perfectly capable of being an average defender."

The same Dodgers person pointed out that there were similar concerns about center fielder Andy Pages when he was coming up through the minors. Pages has since become a Gold Glove caliber defender in the major leagues.

De Paula is currently in Triple-A, where he is playing left field in preparation of possibly being chosen to the Dodgers' playoff roster. Optioning De Paula was more so to help him continue the development of his outfield defense before the postseason. Although he had his struggles in the outfield during the minor league season this year, De Paula has looked fine in left field since being sent back down.

Why the Dodgers should carry De Paula on their postseason roster

There appears to be a strong chance that De Paula makes the Dodgers' postseason roster as a bench player over catcher Dalton Rushing, who can only hit due to a partially torn UCL and flexor strain in his throwing elbow.

For that, the logical choice seems to be for the Dodgers to carry De Paula on their playoff roster over Rushing. De Paula made an impact with his bat in his brief stint in the majors and showed Los Angeles a glimpse of his potential and what's to come, which could be future stardom.

The Dodgers could decide to platoon the left-handed hitting De Paula with righty slugger Teoscar Hernandez in left field in their pursuit of a third straight World Series title. And Hernandez's defense in left isn't that strong to begin with, neither is Kyle Tucker's in right field.

When looking at it from a future lens, with Hernandez having one more year left on his contract, De Paula is likely to become the Dodgers' everyday left fielder by 2028 given Ohtani is locked in as the DH for the foreseeable future. And as far as De Paula's defensive concerns go, they are seemingly exaggerated at this point.

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