The Los Angeles Dodgers have turned to Tommy Edman as their primary center fielder in place of Andy Pages, who has been on 10-day injured list since Aug. 22 with a left hand fracture.
The 25-year-old’s recovery has progressed well and he will begin swinging a bat in the next couple days.
“I think he starts swinging pretty soon,” Dodgers hitting coach Aaron Bates said in an interview with David Vassegh on AM 570 L.A. Sports. “He was in the dugout and said he doesn’t feel any pain, his hand feels really good. Which was encouraging to come back from the road trip and touch base other than text.
“He was in great spirits. He was really good. I think he starts swinging here coming up shortly. They said the surgery went really well, so he was excited by it. He expected to be more sore and more pain, but he’s feeling good. … He hasn’t swung yet as far as hitting the ball, but he said in the next couple days or so he was going to practice dry swings at first.
“I think there’s a progression. You’ll have to talk to the trainers for the specifics of the progression, but he said there’s no pain.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts previously shared Pages had “minor procedure” to insert a screw into his hand. Pages was expected to return in four to five weeks, which would have been the case regardless of whether or not surgery became necessary.
The Dodgers believed Pages would be available in October, and he appears to be on track to do just that.
Pages sustained the left hand fracture when he was hit by a pitch from Pittsburgh Pirates starter Bubba Chandler on Aug. 21.
The Dodgers had used a combination of Alek Thomas and Kiké Hernández early on before settling on Edman in center field. Thomas was optioned back to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday amid the flurry of moves made with the expanded roster.
The Dodgers did not call up any outfielders as part of the transactions, instead opting for Alex Freeland, Will Smith, Dalton Rushing and Justin Wrobleski.
Andy Pages’ injury outlooks
The Dodgers and Pages opted for the procedure as a means of accelerating the recovery process from the fracture.
There is just enough time remaining in the regular season schedule for Pages to return before the start of the postseason based on the Dodgers’ outlook for the right-hander.
It is fortunate news for the Dodgers given Pages’ impact on both sides of the ball. The third-year player has 17 defensive runs saved (DSR) this season, which is first in the NL and second only to Ceddanne Rafaela of the Boston Red Sox (19).
On offense, he is batting .272/.338/.458 with 25 doubles, 21 home runs and 80 RBI. Pages earned a first career All-Star Game selection and was on pace to set personal highs in doubles, homers, RBI and on-base plus slugging percentage.
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