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Andy Pages spent his rookie season on the bubble of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ roster. He did not make the team’s Opening Day roster in 2024 and was optioned a second time later in August.
This season, Pages has emerged as the regular starting center fielder for the Dodgers. But Pages has struggled at the plate, contributing to the .439 collective OPS for the Nos. 7-9 in the order, which is the worst in MLB.
The question is how long of a grace period the Dodgers should give Pages. He is young and adjusting to being a regular starter, but at the same time, Los Angeles is looking to win back-to-back World Series titles.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he will grant Pages 150 plate appearances to improve his performance. So far, Pages has recorded 59 plate appearances.
“I think for Andy’s situation, I’ve used that 150 plate appearance benchmark,” Roberts said.
Roberts acknowledged the improvement of utility man Kiké Hernández and shortstop Miguel Rojas at the plate. The pair often bat at the bottom of the order, which is where the majority of the Dodgers’ offensive struggles come from.
“I think Kiké figured some things out offensively the last couple days, and it’s worked, that we’re going to start seeing some better at-bats. It was good to see Miggy got a couple hits,” Roberts said.
Even if Pages is able to become a reliable hitter for the Dodgers, his defense might not be enough to keep his starting spot. Tommy Edman was initially the Dodgers’ starting center fielder but moved to second base to replace utility Hyeseong Kim, who was sent to Triple-A before Opening Day.
But Kim has excelled in his first 14 Triple-A games and may be the solution to the Dodgers’ recent offensive struggles. If Kim rejoins the team, he will likely play second base and Edman will play center field, sending Pages back to the bench.
Although Kim could be the spark the Dodgers need, Roberts is focused on working with the players he already has on his roster.
“But these are our guys right now, so I’m going to just continue to run them out there and sort of mix and match,” Roberts said. “And obviously I got to find a way to include Chris Taylor as well, to get him some at-bats too.”
The season is still early but Pages is already a third of the way through the 150 plate appearances benchmark Roberts has set. Pages will need to make a change if he wants to remain a key piece of Los Angeles’ roster.
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