The Los Angeles Dodgers roster crunch has resulted in several veterans being designated for assignment, as well as other players getting optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Andy Pages falls in the latter category as he was sent to the Dodgers’ top affiliate to make room for Max Muncy’s return off the 60-day injured list.
Pages originally joined the Dodgers in mid-April and hit his way into a regular role. The rookie struggled at times defensively in center field and cooled off at the plate, but had recently started to swing the bat well again.
However, Pages became the odd man out with Kevin Kiermaier’s presence, the Dodgers’ plan to play Tommy Edman in center field and Mookie Betts returning to right field.
With rosters expanding on Sept. 1, the Dodgers will be able to carry two extra players for the remainder of the regular season. Manager Dave Roberts expects one of those spots to go to Pages.
“Yeah, that’s what it should be. Yeah, I think that’s our expectation is for Andy to come back on September 1,” Roberts said.
Pages is hitting .246/.305/.388 with 22 doubles, one triple, nine home runs and 36 RBI in 98 games for the Dodgers this season. Since returning to Oklahoma City, he is batting .345 with four extra-base hits and five RBI in seven games.
Pages’ return will give the Dodgers another right-handed bat off the bench and a player who is capable of handling all three outfield positions.
Andy Pages’ offensive turnaround with Dodgers
After enduring the worst month of his big league career in July, Pages had turned things around before being demoted to OKC.
The 23-year-old was hitting .290/.389/.548 with five doubles, a home run and five RBI in 10 games (eight starts) this month.
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