With Jason Heyward still on the 10-day injured list because of lower back tightness and the bottom of the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup in need of a spark, heralded prospect Andy Pages is getting an opportunity earlier than anticipated.
Pages underwent left shoulder surgery in 2023 and wasn’t projected to make his MLB debut until later this year. But the Cuban native performed well during Spring Training and to begin the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Now the Dodgers intend on giving Pages ample opportunities at the Major League level.
“I think the impetus was with Jason being down, we just really don’t know his timeline. So it gives Andy a runway. What that means, I don’t know. But I know a couple weeks is certainly fair. I’ll try to get him in there as much as I can to try to see what we have in him,” manager Dave Roberts said.
The timeline for Heyward’s return has been very murky as of late, as there was a hope he would be back sooner rather than later.
Heyward’s return has always been predicated on how his back responded to increased baseball activity, which was met with some lingering discomfort. That prompted the Dodgers to plan on Heyward needing a rehab assignment prior to getting activated.
In addition to Heyward’s injury, the Dodgers are giving Pages every opportunity to show his offensive production in Oklahoma City can translate at the Major League level in order to provide a boost to the lineup. He will not be limited to a platoon role against left-handed starters, but will receive chances to be in the lineup against right-handers as well.
Lack of production from the lower third of Dodgers lineup was a factor as well, but ultimately it was Heyward’s injury that prompted Pages getting called up and Taylor Trammell designated for assignment.
“I don’t expect it to continue at this clip,” Roberts said of the struggles. “But really the driver is Jason not being around. That’s why we went out and got Trammell initially, because we thought it was going to be a short-term stint.
“But as each day passes, it just seems longer, so this seemed like a good opportunity to give Andy some runway.”
Andy Pages bobblehead
Pages started in both of the two games since joining the Dodgers roster, and got a base hit in his first at-bat. Pages’ MLB debut and single were commemorated by FOCO with a limited-edition bobblehead releaes.
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