Andy Pages (hand) starts hitting progression

It doesn’t qualify as a significant surprise to see Pages hitting towards the bottom of the order in his return from the injured list since he skipped a minor league rehab assignment on his way back from surgery to repair a left hand fracture. It’ll probably take him a couple games to knock off some of the rust, but Pages is probably worth rolling out there in deeper mixed leagues for the final week of the season.

Pages returns to Los Angeles’ lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against the Padres following a one-month absence recovering from surgery to address a left hand fracture. The 25-year-old fantasy standout was hitting .272/.338/.458 with 72 runs scored, 21 homers, 80 RBI and 12 steals in 550 plate appearances prior to the injury. He’s clearly worth rolling out there in most fantasy leagues based on his raw talent alone, but the Dodgers are presumably going to manage his workload closely during the final week of the regular season since he skipped a minor league rehab assignment altogether.

Pages will have missed a month with a fractured hand suffered on a HBP. His return will push Tommy Edman back to second base and Alex Freeland to the bench.

Pages is expected back from his fractured hand within the next few days. That’ll push Tommy Edman back to center and result in less playing time for Alex Freeland.

The Dodgers are home from Friday through next Wednesday, so Pages could be activated at any time during that stretch. The season ends for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday, so if Pages is coming back without playing in rehab games, our best guess is that he returns early next week. Considering the 25-year-old fractured his hand on August 21st and will not have any rehab games before returning, it’s going to be tough to trust him in fantasy leagues for the final week of the season.

Pages is close to taking live batting practice, which would be the final step before getting back into game action again. The 25-year-old center fielder should make it back to Los Angeles for the start of the postseason after having surgery to repair a left hand fracture back in late August.

Pages is going to need at least a couple weeks before he’s ready to return to Los Angeles’ lineup after undergoing surgery to repair a left hand fracture in late August. The widely-held expectation is that he’ll be ready for the start of the postseason. He can be safely dropped in all redraft fantasy formats.

There’s still no clear timeline for his potential return to action, but it’s encouraging to hear that the procedure was minor. As long as the Dodgers have him back in time for the postseason, they’re not going to rush his rehab.

Pages can be dropped in nearly all redraft fantasy leagues as he’s expected to miss 4-5 weeks after suffering the injury when he was hit by a pitch during Friday’s game against the Pirates. The 25-year-old was in the midst of a stellar campaign where he was delivering second-round fantasy value, hitting .272/.338/.458 with 72 runs scored, 21 homers, 80 RBI and 12 steals in 550 plate appearances. It sounds like there’s a chance he’s back at the end of the regular season and should be ready to roll by the time the Dodgers kick off the postseason. It’ll be a combination of Alek Thomas, Tommy Edman and Enrique Hernández taking over in center field during his absence.

Thomas isn’t the most exciting option from a pure fantasy perspective, but he makes the most sense as a short-term stopgap for the Dodgers with Andy Pages set to miss 4-5 weeks with a fractured hand. The 26-year-old defensive specialist is an excellent defender in center field and is already on the 40-man roster. He’ll split time with Tommy Edman and Enrique Hernández for the next couple weeks. There’s a chance that a top prospect like Josue De Paula, Mike Sirota or James Tibbs III get a look once rosters expand, but that seems unlikely at this juncture.