Shohei Ohtani injured list move effectively ends another Dodgers season

The Dodgers finally, officially placed Shohei Ohtani on the injured list Friday.Which also meant they had to finally, officially make corresponding moves to their 40-man roster.There was the expected one, with top prospect Josue De Paula being called up straight from Double-A to make his MLB debut on Friday in Miami.Then there was the unexpected twist, with Eric Lauer being transferred from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list — a procedural move that will effectively end his season.Lauer had originally been placed on the shorter IL on Sept.2 with an elbow inflammation issue that didn’t initially seem overly serious; with manager Dave Roberts even saying at the time, “I don’t think he was thrilled about going on the IL.”However, the state of Lauer’s injury and the Dodgers’ sudden need to clear a 40-man roster spot for De Paula meant that the veteran left-hander was the odd man out in Friday’s roster shuffle.And by going onto the 60-day IL, he now won’t be eligible to be activated until after the scheduled end of the World Series — dashing whatever slim hopes he still had of breaking into the Dodgers’ postseason roster.Lauer was unlikely to do so even if he had stayed healthy.

But he was at least in the conversation thanks to the 3.78 ERA he posted in his first 13 outings with the Dodgers, before a three-inning, seven-run clunker that precipitated his IL placement a couple weeks ago.The good news for the Dodgers: They still have plenty of pitching depth without Lauer — or the now one-way Ohtani, for that matter.Roki Sasaki could return from the injured list as soon as Sunday, having progressed enough from a finger blister to be an option to start the Dodgers’ series finale against the Marlins.Edwin Díaz and Kris Bubic are also on the mend, though Díaz will throw at least one more minor-league rehab outing in Triple-A this weekend before being an option to return, per Roberts.Ohtani’s status remains less clear.Roberts said...