Dodgers Notes: Second Base, Edman, Hernández
One camp battle opened for the Dodgers this week. Manager Dave Roberts confirmed that Tommy Edman would begin the season on the injured list as he works back from right ankle surgery. That leaves the season-opening second base job up for grabs among a handful of players.
As Jack Harris of The California Post writes, that could be most meaningful for Hyeseong Kim and Alex Freeland. Kim played in 71 games as an MLB rookie, hitting .280/.314/.385 but striking out in more than 30% of his plate appearances. He had an overaggressive approach and rarely hit the ball hard. Kim’s profile in the KBO was built around his speed and middle infield defense, and his early MLB results align with that.
The 24-year-old Freeland is one of the organization’s better position player prospects. He struggled in a 29-game debut, batting .190 while punching out 35 times across 97 trips to the plate. Freeland had a strong year with Triple-A Oklahoma City, though, hitting .263/.384/.451 with 16 home runs and 18 stolen bases. He walked at a huge 16.3% clip while striking out 22% of the time in the minors.
Kim is a left-handed bat, while Freeland is a switch-hitter who was much better from the left side last season. Either could work in a second base platoon with righty-swinging Miguel Rojas, who projects as their top utility infielder. Kim has the leg up from a versatility perspective, as his plus speed also allows him to back up Andy Pages in center field. Freeland can move around the infield but isn’t a burner and has no professional outfield experience. Both players have minor league options remaining and could be sent to OKC without going on waivers. That’d be more plausible if a non-roster invitee like Santiago Espinal or Ryan Fitzgerald plays their way into a bench job with a strong spring.
Edman’s injury also subtracts from the early-season outfield depth. He’d have been in line for a decent amount of center field work if he were at full strength. Kim could play that role instead, particularly late in games for defensive purposes. That’d occasionally allow Pages to slide to left field, where Teoscar Hernández will pick up the majority of the playing time. Hernández is changing corners after the Kyle Tucker signing.
It wasn’t a lock that the two-time All-Star would remain on the roster all winter. Hernández came up in some trade rumors, with the Royals among the teams known to have interest. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman acknowledged that the front office took calls on his availability but downplayed their desire to trade him at any point (link via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic).
“Teams call and ask about different guys all the time,” Friedman said. “Some that get out there, some that don’t. But we very much value clubhouse chemistry. It’s not something that we would be willy-nilly about. I don’t blame teams for asking. … But obviously it’s not lost on us the importance he has, not just on the field but in the clubhouse as well.”
There’s no indication that any talks have carried into Spring Training. Hernández remains a potent power threat coming off a 25-homer season, but the rest of his production dropped. He hit .247 with a career-worst .284 on-base percentage across 546 plate appearances. Hernández also had a second straight tough year defensively. The 33-year-old said today that he never felt at full strength after a mid-May left groin strain.
That only required a two-week injured list stint but certainly could have impacted his mobility after he returned. That said, Hernández has never been a great defender and is unlikely to improve much in his mid-30s. He’s not an ideal roster fit on a team that can’t offer playing time at designated hitter, but he’s signed for another two years and $33MM (including an option buyout for 2028). Even with the majority of those salaries deferred, that’s more than he would have landed as a free agent this offseason. The Dodgers have no need to force a salary dump and were unlikely to get much of value in a trade return.
Dodgers To Sign Santiago Espinal To Minor League Deal
The Dodgers are adding Santiago Espinal on a minor league deal, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Espinal is in big-league camp with the team. The veteran infielder is a client of Rimas Sports Agency.
The Espinal news comes on the heels of the announcement that Tommy Edman will begin the year on the IL, which manager Dave Roberts shared with reporters (including Ardaya) this morning. Edman is coming off ankle surgery and was known to be taking a gradual approach to building up for the regular season.
Roberts mentioned Miguel Rojas, Alex Freeland, and Hyeseong Kim as candidates to pick up work at second base (relayed by Sonja Chen of MLB.com). Espinal could join that mix if he makes the team.
The 31-year-old Espinal struggled mightily with the Reds last season. He posted a 58 wRC+ while spending time at all four infield positions, plus both corner outfield spots. Espinal, never known for his power, amassed 328 plate appearances without a home run. Cincinnati sent Espinal outright to Triple-A Louisville at the end of October. He rejected the assignment and entered free agency.
After a brief debut with Toronto in the shortened 2020 season, Espinal became an important part of the Blue Jays’ lineup in 2021. He slashed .311/.376/.405 in 92 games as Toronto’s semi-regular third baseman. Espinal slid over to second base the following year, delivering a perfectly league-average 100 wRC+ in a career-high 135 games.
Espinal’s production tailed off in 2023. His OPS fell to .644 in a utility role. Toronto traded him to Cincinnati for right-hander Chris McElvain shortly before the 2024 campaign. He added both corner outfield spots and first base to his lengthy list of defensive positions while with the Reds, but his tenure with the team was otherwise forgettable.
The main draw for Espinal is the ability to provide credible defense in several areas. He hasn’t been a plus-defender in terms of Defensive Runs Saved in recent seasons, but he’s kept his head above water in both the infield and outfield. Outs Above Average had Espinal as a +2 in 2025.
Photo courtesy of Katie Stratman, Imagn Images
Dodgers Notes: Ohtani, Snell, Edman
Shohei Ohtani was on the mound for the final out of the last World Baseball Classic, striking out then-teammate Mike Trout to take home the trophy. The 2026 edition of the event won’t feature Ohtani the pitcher. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters, including Alden Gonzalez of ESPN, that the Japanese right-hander will not be pitching in the WBC. Roberts added that it was Ohtani’s decision.
Though Roberts said the team “absolutely” would’ve worked out Ohtani pitching in the tournament if he wanted to (per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register), recent developments around WBC insurance may have thrown a wrench into the situation. Evan Drellich of The Athletic noted Ohtani was unlikely to be covered as a pitcher, meaning he couldn’t have pitched in the WBC regardless of his personal preference. The insurance issues have led Team Puerto Rico to consider removing themselves from the event.
Ohtani will still be on Team Japan as a DH. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic relayed that the righty said he’ll be ready to pitch to open the regular season. Ohtani didn’t pitch at all in 2024 as he recovered from elbow surgery. A shoulder procedure at the conclusion of that season kept him off the mound until June of this past year. Ohtani made 14 starts for the Dodgers in 2025. He delivered a 2.87 ERA across 47 innings. Ohtani wasn’t as dominant in the playoffs, though he did toss six innings in three of his four outings, something he did just once in the regular season.
Health tends to be the main question mark for L.A.’s rotation, and Blake Snell is taking steps to make sure he feels right in 2026. The talented left-hander told reporters, including Ardaya, that he’s taking a more deliberate approach to building up strength this offseason. “Last year, I was rushing,” Snell said. “I wanted to pitch so bad.”
After signing a massive five-year, $182MM deal, Snell went down with shoulder inflammation just two starts into his Dodgers tenure. He posted eight walks to just four strikeouts in those two games. “Just never felt great, never felt what the normal (is) I’ve felt my whole career,” Snell said. He returned in August and looked like himself, piling up strikeouts and keeping opposing offenses off the board. The lefty limited the Reds, Phillies, and Brewers to two earned runs over 21 innings in the playoffs. The Blue Jays tagged him for 10 earned runs over three appearances, but Snell’s final postseason line still looks solid.
Even with the slower buildup, “the plan” is for Snell to be ready for Opening Day, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com. If Snell isn’t ready by late March, Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan would likely fill out a rotation. The Dodgers are a good bet to rely on more than five starters anyway, given the injury histories and heavy workloads of their core arms. As Ardaya points out, the starters covered 137 1/3 of 165 innings during the 2025 playoff run.
Tommy Edman is also going with the gradual approach this offseason. The 30-year-old is recovering from ankle surgery. The procedure included ligament repair and the removal of bone spurs, notes Ardaya. Edman said the issues affected him as a baserunner and as a defender bouncing between second base and center field. Similar to Snell, his status for Opening Day is uncertain.
“I think it all depends on how the progression goes along,” Edman said. “I’m not putting that as a hard line in the sand. I am doing everything I can to be ready for Opening Day. But if it comes around to that time and my ankle is 90 percent, not quite where I need it to be, I’m going to do my best to be patient with it and get it back to 100 percent and not dealing with it for the rest of the year.”
Dodgers Notes: Hernandez, Betts, Edman
Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez has come up in trade talks recently, though both manager Dave Roberts and general manager Brandon Gomes shot down the notion of moving the veteran. “That doesn’t feel likely,” Gomes told reporters, including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. “Obviously, you can never say never on those types of things. I know that’s come up [in reports]. But that’s not something we anticipate at all.”
Hernandez is heading into the second season of a three-year, $66MM deal. He’s coming off a down 2025 campaign in which he provided close to league-average results by wRC+. The veteran slashed .247/.284/.454 with 25 home runs as LA’s primary right fielder. Hernandez posted a decent .788 OPS in the postseason.
The 33-year-old Hernandez spent time in center field early in his Toronto tenure, though those days are long gone. He might be better suited as a DH at this point, but that spot is obviously taken in LA. Hernandez has delivered back-to-back brutal seasons in the field in terms of Outs Above Average, posting a -10 in 2024 and a -9 this past year. Roberts seems to disagree with Statcast’s assessment of Hernandez’s defense, calling his play “at least average” in right field, though he indicated a change could be possible. “I do think that with the versatility [of our roster] and how we potentially shape this roster, there’s some options,” Roberts said. “But right now, he’s our right fielder.”
One player who won’t be an option to replace Hernandez in right field is Mookie Betts. Roberts confirmed the versatile Betts will remain at shortstop next season. “He put a lot of time in at shortstop, a lot of bandwidth, and it certainly worked because he was a lockdown shortstop for us,” Roberts told reporters, including Katie Woo of The Athletic. Betts started 148 games at short last season.
Betts is a six-time Gold Glove award winner in the outfield, but he’s moved to the dirt the past two seasons. He split his time between second base and shortstop in 2024, before moving full-time to the latter spot in 2025. Betts earned modest defensive grades when he first moved to the infield, but posted strong numbers last season. Defensive Runs Saved was especially kind to Betts, giving him a +17 mark.
Some of the roster versatility Roberts mentioned might also take a hit after Gomes provided a health update on Tommy Edman. The GM said Edman recently underwent a debridement procedure to address his ankle injury. Gomes added that the infielder/outfielder would likely be limited heading into Spring Training, and the club doesn’t expect the recovery to “affect a meaningful part of the season.” The phrasing of that timeline cast a bit of doubt on Edman’s availability to start the year.
Edman hit the injured list with ankle inflammation in May. He returned after only missing a few weeks of action, but went down again with an ankle sprain in August. Edman made it back for the final few weeks of the regular season. He started every postseason game for LA, primarily playing second base, along with a couple of starts in center field. Edman also missed significant time in 2024 with a wrist injury.
The surgery could potentially help Edman bounce back offensively next season. He posted a career-worst 81 wRC+ over 97 games in 2025. More concerning, he managed just three steals. After three consecutive seasons of at least 25 thefts with St. Louis, Edman has totaled nine steals across his two years in LA.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
Tommy Edman To Undergo Ankle Surgery, Expected To Be Ready For Spring Training
Dodgers infielder/outfielder Tommy Edman will undergo surgery on his right ankle next week. General manager Brandon Gomes provided the news to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. No details on the surgery were provided but Gomes says Edman is expected to be ready around the start of spring training.
The ankle issue seemed to hamper Edman throughout the 2025 season. Inflammation in that right ankle put him on the injured list at the end of April. He returned a few weeks later but landed back on the IL with a right ankle sprain in August. The second IL stint lasted a little longer than a month.
Though the missed time was fairly minimal, it’s possible the injury impacted Edman’s performance on the field. He hit .225/.274/.382 this year. That translated to an 81 wRC+, the lowest such mark of his career. He had a .252/.295/.523 line and 120 wRC+ through April, when he first landed on the IL. He slashed .213/.264/.315 for a 62 wRC+ the rest of the way. He only attempted four stolen bases, with three successful steals, far less than previous seasons.
It’s possible that we haven’t seen a fully healthy Edman for a while. Back in 2022, with the Cardinals, he slashed .265/.324/.400 for a 106 wRC+, stole 32 bases and received strong defensive grades. FanGraphs credited him with 5.4 wins above replacement that year. In 2023, right wrist issues popped up, dragging down his offense. He underwent surgery after that season. He was rehabbing from that wrist surgery in June of 2024 when a right ankle sprain set him back. The Dodgers acquired him at the 2024 deadline while he was still on the IL. He got into 37 games down the stretch.
Despite the nagging injury issues in 2024, the Dodgers felt comfortable enough with Edman to make a big bet on him. Edman and the Dodgers agreed to a five-year, $74MM extension for the 2025 to 2029 seasons. The first year didn’t really work out so well, but the hope will be that Edman can be healthy and back to his old self in 2026.
Edman is capable of playing multiple positions. In 2025, when on the field, he split his time between second base, third base and center field. As of right now, the easiest spot to slot him in for 2026 is second base. The Dodgers have Max Muncy at third and Andy Pages in center. Edman’s main competition at the keystone would be light-hitting Hyeseong Kim, with Alex Freeland also in the mix. Of course, the offseason is still in its early stages and it’s possible things look different a few months from now, depending on what moves the club makes.
Photo courtesy of Jason Parkhurst, Imagn Images
Clayton Kershaw Will Not Be On Dodgers’ Wild Card Roster
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts tells Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times that left-hander Clayton Kershaw will not be on the club’s Wild Card roster. The veteran southpaw is starting today’s game and it will be a normal start for him. The Dodgers recalled right-hander Landon Knack to give them a fresh arm, with left-hander Andrew Heaney optioned out as the corresponding move.
The decision on Kershaw makes sense given the short series, as they wouldn’t need him to make a start in the best-of-three. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blake Snell will likely take the ball for the first two contests. Tyler Glasnow started yesterday but only went three innings. He should be plenty rested to start on normal rest for Thursday’s Game Three, if necessary. Shohei Ohtani could also be a factor in there, depending on how the Dodgers want to use him.
The Dodgers have experimented with Kershaw as a reliever a little bit recently, as he tossed a relief inning on Wednesday. However, Kershaw lacks the top-end velocity that teams generally like to have coming out of the bullpen these days. His fastball averaged 90.4 miles per hour during that appearance out of the bullpen on Wednesday. Even with the Dodger bullpen scuffling a bit in recent weeks, they seemingly prefer to go with their typical relievers instead of having Kershaw convert to a pen role.
Since the Dodgers don’t plan on using Kershaw in the Wild Card round, they can have him absorb as many innings as possible today. Their contest this afternoon is meaningless, as they have already been locked into the #3 seed in the National League. It’s also meaningless for the Mariners, who are locked into the #2 seed in the American League. The Dodgers presumably hope to have Kershaw and Knack cover as much of the game as possible. Though they do have an off-day tomorrow before the Wild Card series begins, so they could perhaps have some relievers get limited work during today’s contest. Kershaw should get more consideration for a spot on the NLDS roster, if the Dodgers advance.
As for Heaney, he has more than enough service time where he can only be optioned to the minors with his consent. Presumably, he has agreed to be optioned off the active roster. That arrangement likely works for both sides. He probably isn’t going to be on the club’s initial playoff roster but could be recalled if some injuries pop up. That gives the Dodgers some extra depth. For Heaney, it’s a chance to potentially pitch in the postseason, whereas not consenting would only allow him to get a headstart on his offseason. He’ll be eligible for free agency at season’s end regardless.
Roberts also provided updates on some position players, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com. Roberts expects third baseman Max Muncy to be ready by Tuesday’s game. He hasn’t played since Wednesday due to some unspecified lower body injury. Roberts added that infielder/outfielder Tommy Edman should be able to play the field by Tuesday as well. Due to some right ankle soreness, he hasn’t played the field since Wednesday, though he did serve as the designated hitter on Saturday.
Catcher Will Smith is a bit more up in the air. He hasn’t played in almost three weeks due to a hairline fracture in his hand, suffered when he was hit by a foul ball. Roberts says he has been swinging lately but will need to take live at-bats tomorrow to be considered for the roster. Currently, the Dodgers have Ben Rortvedt and Dalton Rushing handling the catching duties.
Photo courtesy of Joe Rondone, Imagn Images
Dodgers Activate Tommy Edman From Injured List
6:22pm: Manager Dave Roberts tells reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times) this afternoon that Edman, who is in center field today, may be on the grass on a regular basis going forward against left-handed pitching. He added that Edman could also see time at second base depending on how he looks running full-speed following his ankle injury.
5:39pm: Dodgers utility man Tommy Edman is being activated from the injured list today, the club announced today. Rookie center fielder Justin Dean was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move to make room for Edman on the roster.
Edman, 30, joined the Dodgers in a three-team trade with the White Sox and Cardinals last year. In 123 regular season games since then, Edman has slashed .231/.285/.403 with 18 homers, nine steals, and a 17.9% strikeout rate in 485 plate appearances. That’s good for only a wRC+ of 90, although it’s worth noting that Edman hit .328/.354/.508 during the Dodgers’ World Series run last year and even earned NLCS MVP honors for his work against the Mets.
The switch-hitter was signed to an extension during the offseason that guaranteed him $74MM over five seasons. That might seem like a hefty price to pay for a player who is typically below average offensively, but Edman makes up for his less than impactful bat by being a Gold Glove caliber defender capable of playing virtually any position on the diamond. He’s primarily played second base and shortstop throughout his career, but also has more than 600 innings of work both in center field and at third base over the course of his career.
After splitting time fairly evenly between shortstop and center field last year, Edman has mostly played second base with semi-regular reps in center and at the hot corner during the 2025 campaign. That’s when he hasn’t been on the injured list, as the Dodgers have needed to get through much of the season without him on the roster due to a pair of ankle injuries. The most recent occurred in early August and has left him shelved for just over a month. Now that he’s healthy, he joins a Dodgers lineup that also recently saw Will Smith and Max Muncy some back from injuries of their own.
With both Edman and Muncy back in the fold to handle regular duties at second and third base, that could leave rookie Hyeseong Kim without a regular position in the lineup. The Dodgers have at times in recent weeks suggested that Kim could get looks in left field over struggling veteran Michael Conforto. Perhaps that will come to pass now that Edman has returned to bump Kim off the keystone, given his 78 wRC+ on the year and similarly mediocre performance in recent weeks. Regardless of what sort of domino effects Edman’s return from the injured list might have on the Dodgers’ lineup down the stretch, it can only be a good thing for Los Angeles to have a deeper cache of options from which to work as they look to stave off the Padres in the NL West and defend their 2024 World Series championship in October.
As for Dean, the 28-year-old rookie has appeared in 18 games with the Dodgers this year. That work has almost exclusively been as a pinch runner and defensive replacement, as Dean has just two MLB plate appearances to his name that saw him go 0-for-2 with one strikeout, though he is 1-for-1 on the basepaths in the majors. A 17th rounder plucked by the Braves organization during the 2018 draft, Dean has parts of four seasons at Triple-A under his belt where he’s slashed .233/.340/.350 with 57 steals in 69 attempts. He’ll head back to the minor leagues for the time being, but could still be an option for the Dodgers off the bench later this year if the need for a speedster arises.
Dodgers Place Tommy Edman On Injured List
The Dodgers placed Tommy Edman on the 10-day injured list with a right ankle sprain. As expected, Max Muncy was reinstated from his own IL stint in the corresponding move.
Edman missed a couple weeks in May with ankle inflammation. He aggravated the injury while rounding first base on a single during yesterday’s win over Tampa Bay. Edman was immediately lifted for a pinch-runner, and manager Dave Roberts said postgame that it’d require an injured list stint. The switch-hitting Edman had a monster April, hitting eight home runs in the season’s first month. He hasn’t hit much since then, batting .214/.273/.323 in 210 plate appearances going back to May 1.
The Dodgers will lose one of their most valuable defensive players. Edman plays above-average to plus defense virtually everywhere on the diamond. He has played mostly second base but also taken a decent amount of innings in center field and at third base. The Dodgers also recently lost Hyeseong Kim to an IL stint. That presumably leaves second base to rookie infielder Alex Freeland, though it’s veteran utilityman Miguel Rojas who gets the nod there tonight after Freeland started four consecutive games at the hot corner.
Muncy will step back into an everyday role at third base. He’s back a month after suffering a bone bruise in his left knee. That’s a remarkably quick turnaround. Not only did the injury initially look gruesome, Muncy announced a six-week timetable even after imaging revealed he’d avoided ligament damage. Muncy was on a tear before the injury. After hitting .194 over the season’s first month, he raked at a .282/.410/.546 clip with 12 home runs from the start of May until the injury. He’s hitting fifth tonight against the Cardinals, who are turning to Sonny Gray in the series opener.
Max Muncy Expects To Miss Around Six Weeks With Bone Bruise
The Dodgers placed Max Muncy on the 10-day injured list this evening, an inevitability after he was helped off the field following an ugly left knee injury yesterday. He has been diagnosed with a bone bruise and tells Sonja Chen of MLB.com that he expects to be out for roughly six weeks. Imaging did not reveal any structural damage.
All things considered, this is probably a positive development. Muncy’s knee appeared to snap back awkwardly when he was injured in a collision with White Sox outfielder Michael A. Taylor. Taylor was attempting to steal third base and unintentionally dove directly into Muncy’s knee as the infielder stretched to apply the tag. Muncy was in a lot of pain and gingerly walked off the field with assistance from trainers. It raised initial fears about potential season-ending ligament damage.
Those proved unfounded, though the bone bruise will keep him on the shelf into the middle or end of August. Muncy has been on a tear for the past couple months. After hitting .194 over the season’s first month, he has raked at a .282/.410/.546 clip with 12 home runs since the beginning of May. That shut down any speculation that the Dodgers would trade for a third baseman. A season-ending injury might have changed that calculus, but it’s unlikely they’d alter their deadline plans when they expect Muncy back for the stretch run.
Miguel Rojas gets the first start at third base tonight, drawing into the nine hole against Sox righty Aaron Civale. Manager Dave Roberts told media (including David Vassegh of 570 AM) that Tommy Edman will begin taking third base drills. Rojas, Edman and Enrique Hernández will rotate through the hot corner, allowing the Dodgers to use Hyeseong Kim more frequently at second base. They also claimed CJ Alexander off waivers from the Yankees to add corner infield depth at Triple-A.
Roberts: Andy Pages To Continue Seeing Regular Playing Time
The Dodgers activated veteran outfielder Teoscar Hernandez from the injured list yesterday and optioned James Outman to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Hernandez’s return won’t cut into the playing time of hot-hitting 24-year-old Andy Pages, it seems. Manager Dave Roberts told the Dodgers beat last night that Pages is “an everyday player” who’ll see only occasional off-days (including last night).
It would indeed be hard to cut into Pages’ playing time based on his performance of late. The former top prospect posted a league-average .248/.305/.407 slash (100 wRC+) as a rookie but has raked at a .280/.333/.494 clip with nine home runs in just 177 plate appearances in 2025. He and Hernandez have been far and away the team’s two most productive outfielders this year.
There are some reasons to take Pages’ breakout with a grain of salt. He hasn’t made substantial changes to an approach at the plate that still seems like it could use work. Pages fanned in 24.4% of his plate appearances as a rookie and walked at just a 6.5% clip. Both marks were worse than league average. In 2025, he’s slightly pared back the strikeouts (23.2%) but has seen his walk rate dip as well (5.6%). The league-average strikeout rate is 22%; for walks, it’s 8.7%.
Pages is making more contact on pitches within the strike zone, jumping from a slightly below-average 84.8% last year to a healthier 88.2% in 2025. (League-average hovers between 85% and 85.5%.) However, he’s also chasing off the plate more frequently this season and swinging more often in general. Of the 165 qualified hitters in Major League Baseball, only 15 have swung more often than Pages, who’s offered at just under 54% of the pitches he sees. Hitters can certainly succeed with an aggressive approach — Pete Crow-Armstrong swings more often than any hitter in the National League — but Pages has well below-average quality of contact.
None of this is to say Pages can’t or won’t be a solid hitter — but continuing on at a pace that’s about 30% better than average seems unlikely without some refinement to his approach or an uptick in hard contact. Even if he’s “only” around 10% better than average at the plate for the rest of the season, he’s a clear everyday player, given his glovework in center field and his plus speed.
With Pages locked into regular or near-regular reps in center field and Hernandez back to his post in right field, the Dodgers will look to a combination of Michael Conforto and Tommy Edman in left field. Edman figures to be out there on days that Hyeseong Kim gets the nod at second base, although Kim has also played some center field and pushed Pages to left field. Broadly speaking, left field will be handled in more piecemeal fashion.
The 32-year-old Conforto, signed to a one-year deal worth $17MM this offseason, has struggled immensely thus far but still seems like he’ll get the lion’s share of playing time for now. Both that contract and some positive traits that run counter to his bleak .168/.304/.273 slash through 171 plate appearances should net him a bit more leash. Conforto is walking at a huge 13.5% clip, and he’s averaging 91 mph off the bat while putting 47% of his batted balls in play at 95 mph or greater. He’s not expanding the zone all that often, and his contact rate within the zone is nearly 86%.
At some point, the results will need to be there for him to continue getting chances, but it’s understandable right now if the Dodgers are convinced better days are ahead. Conforto mashed at a .273/.329/.529 pace in a near identical playing time sample of 173 plate appearances following the 2024 trade deadline, which helped him secure that contract in the first place.