Andy Pages is back. The Dodgers outfielder is set to return Tuesday against the San Diego Padres, a month after a pitch fractured his left hand and knocked him out of the lineup.
The injury happened on August 22nd in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, when a pitch caught him on the hand. Pages had surgery shortly after and has been working his way back ever since, steadily increasing his baseball activity through the recovery.
On Friday, before the Dodgers' home game against the Giants, Pages told AM 570's David Vassegh he hopes to be in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Padres. Manager Dave Roberts has already told reporters, including Dodgers Nation, that Pages would be activated at some point during the current homestand.
The timing is tight. The Dodgers are home from Friday through Wednesday, then close the regular season against the Giants in San Francisco. If Pages returns Tuesday, he gets five games to find his rhythm before the postseason. Rest him for one of those, and he's down to four.
That's not a lot of runway for a hitter coming off a hand injury, but the Dodgers aren't bringing him back for his bat alone. Pages is an elite defender. FanGraphs has him at a 9.5 defensive rating, and Baseball Savant shows 8 outs above average in center field. Those numbers matter even more when you look at who has been covering the position in his absence.
Tommy Edman has taken over center field duties and sits at -1 outs above average. The gap between the two is stark, and for a team that leans on its defense, Pages gives the Dodgers the glove and range to keep runs off the board and let the starting pitching work deeper into games.
Offensively, Pages has a 3.9 fWAR and a 119 wRC+ this season. He puts the bat on the ball, and he does it consistently. That combination of production at the plate and coverage in the outfield is why the Dodgers have been waiting on him rather than rushing him back.
The homestand gives him a chance to ease back in front of a home crowd, but the real test starts when the calendar flips. The Dodgers have their sights set on October, and they need Pages at full strength to make that run work.
The return date is set. Tuesday against the Padres, if everything holds. From there, it's a short sprint to the finish, and Pages will have to make the most of every game he gets.
According to Yahoo Sports.