Dodgers prospect Josue De Paula faces a clear path to playing time, but it hinges on improving his defense. With Shohei Ohtani under contract as the team’s primary designated hitter for the next seven seasons, De Paula, a highly regarded hitter, must become a more capable outfielder to earn a consistent spot in the lineup.
De Paula, 21, acknowledges the need to enhance his defensive skills, as he is currently considered a liability in the outfield. "We’re going to keep working at it and come back better," De Paula stated. His agent, Scott Boras, confirmed that the offseason focus will be on De Paula adapting to an outfield position.
To aid his development, De Paula will work with former major league outfielder Alex Ochoa at Boras’ Miami facility. Ochoa, a World Series champion and experienced player, will guide De Paula's defensive training. Former Gold Glove winner Jackie Bradley Jr. is also expected to assist.
The goal for De Paula is not to become an elite defender immediately, but to reach a level of competence that allows the Dodgers to confidently play him in the outfield. Achieving this could potentially make veteran Teoscar Hernández expendable and open more opportunities for De Paula. Failure to improve defensively could relegate him to DH insurance behind Ohtani or even make him a trade candidate.
During his September call-up, De Paula started at DH in nine of his ten games. In his lone start in left field, he was removed after six innings. Despite this, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman noted a "marked improvement" in De Paula's defense over the past year, attributing some of that progress to his experience in a major league environment.
Friedman believes De Paula benefited significantly from being around the major league club during their playoff push. "I think him coming up, the way our guys welcomed him in the clubhouse, him being around our players and seeing how they prepare and what they do before a game — I think really landed with him in a way that words from us or our minor league staff couldn’t have accomplished in the same way," Friedman said.
De Paula also received direct coaching from third base coach Dino Ebel and manager Dave Roberts. "I felt like I was in the best place to learn," De Paula said.
General manager Brandon Gomes expressed encouragement regarding De Paula's attitude towards improvement. "Our coaching staff and all of us is to make him as good of a defensive outfielder as he can to be a full player because that’s what we expect of all of our guys that step on the field," Gomes stated, suggesting De Paula has the potential to be an above-average defender.
De Paula himself stated that negative commentary about his defense motivates him. "I know that’s a big area of improvement for me. I know I get a lot of hate on it. I’m that type, if I get hate on it, I’m going to focus on it more. So I’m gonna shut a lot of people up with my defense very soon."