The Dodgers wasted little time reshuffling their center-field picture after Andy Pages went down with a fractured left hand, and Alek Thomas is now right in the middle of it.
Los Angeles recalled Thomas on Saturday and sent him straight into action against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He’s expected to play a major role at the position going forward, with manager Dave Roberts laying out a split that starts with Thomas against right-handers.
“I see Alek playing center field versus right, and then versus left, I haven’t decided if I want to put Kiké (Hernández) out there or (Tommy) Edman, and it kind of depends on if (Max) Muncy’s playing. So I haven’t decided, but Alek will play versus right,” Roberts said.
That leaves Hernández and Edman as the other options when the Dodgers are facing left-handed pitching, though Edman may be the least likely to get a heavy workload there. The club has been careful about protecting the surgically repaired ankle he’s still working around.
Thomas, 26, is getting his first major league run with the Dodgers after they acquired him from the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 12. He’s been in the organization long enough to make an impression, and the Dodgers have liked what they’ve seen at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
At the plate, Thomas has put together a strong stretch there, hitting .296/.362/.493 with 17 doubles, three home runs and 40 RBI in 223 at-bats. His walk rate, strikeout rate and wOBA have all moved in the right direction since joining the Dodgers, and his wOBA climbed to .379 after he reported to the Comets.
The defensive piece has always been part of the appeal. Thomas gives the Dodgers a center-field option with a similar glove profile to Pages, even if his big-league bat has not consistently matched that standard so far.
Roberts said the organization has been pleased with Thomas’ approach since the trade.
“Great buy-in, great teammate. Actually, been better versus left, I think, than right.
But a really good defender, and had a good chat with him earlier,” he said. “The vibe down there, the culture down there that (Scott) Hennessey’s doing is great.
The guys are great, and he’s happy to be back in the big leagues.”
As for Pages, the Dodgers are not treating the injury as a season-ender. The full severity of the fractured left hand is still being sorted out, and surgery will be determined after further evaluation this weekend. If an operation is needed, it still would not change the team’s expectation for a return in about four to five weeks.
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