The Dodgers finally got a little encouraging news on Andy Pages, and they needed it.
Pages has been out since Aug. 22 with a hand fracture, a blow that hit Los Angeles’ lineup hard. Before the injury, he had cooled off from the breakout April and May that had already sent some Dodgers fans dreaming way too early about an MVP push, but he was still producing in August. He was hitting .288 with an .802 OPS for the month when he went down, and he had become one of the few bats in the order doing real damage.
Los Angeles has felt the absence. Since Pages landed on the IL, the Dodgers are 3-6, including four straight losses by one run. There’s no way to know whether he would have flipped any of those games, but his presence would have made an offense that much more dangerous - especially with Shohei Ohtani in what’s described as his worst slump of the season and possibly even headed to the IL himself.
Hand fractures can be stubborn, and sometimes the only answer is time. But the Dodgers got a positive sign ahead of their finale against the St. Louis Cardinals: David Vassegh reported that Pages is pain free and will start swinging a bat "in the next couple days."
That update came on a day when the pitching picture got messier again. Eric Lauer went onto the IL with elbow inflammation, Will Klein was transferred to the 60-day IL, and Blake Treinen was reactivated.
Lauer’s injury came as a surprise, especially since the only obvious sign was the rough outing he had against the Cardinals on Tuesday, when he gave up seven runs in three innings. Klein had initially been placed on the IL on Aug. 1 with elbow discomfort.
With Lauer injured and Ohtani shut down from throwing, the Dodgers are back to a standard rotation. That still means Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Tyler Glasnow, and Roki Sasaki, a group that gives Los Angeles one of the most imposing rotations in baseball. Even so, the Dodgers could shift Justin Wrobleski back into the rotation to help buy some extra rest for their injury-prone starters.
For now, the bigger picture is pretty clear. The Dodgers only really need Pages to be ready for the postseason, where they’ll hope he can bounce back after a historically bad showing in 2025. But with Atlanta sitting half a game ahead, Los Angeles would also like to keep pressing in the standings and chase the bye.
The offense has started to stir a bit, even in defeat. If Pages can return soon, he could give it the extra spark it’s been missing as the final three weeks roll on.
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Dodgers Left A Rising Outfielder Waiting For One Frustrating Reason
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For a prospect with Tibbs profile, the delay is more frustrating than alarming. He remains one of the organizations more intriguing young outfielders and is still viewed as a player who should get to the majors in the next couple of years, but this first opening never materialized. For now, the Dodgers are prioritizing flexibility over a longer look at a bat that had at least put itself firmly in the discussion. [Read more 🡒]