Andy Pages (hand) to return from IL against Padres

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 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.

Since rejoining the Dodgers on Sept. 1, Freeland has been a lineup fixture against righties and is batting .258/.379/.419. He might be forced back into a bench role if Andy Pages makes it back.

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 has progressed to hitting off a batting tee for the last two days. The 25-year-old fantasy standout is attempting to make it back to Los Angeles’ lineup in time for the postseason after undergoing surgery to repair a left hand fracture in late August. There’s no reason for fantasy managers to hang onto him with less than three weeks left in the season.

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.

It looks like Tommy Edman is going to see more time in center field with Alek Thomas being demoted, so Freeland could play a fair amount of second base. He’s hit .231/.309/.313 in 223 plate appearances for the Dodgers this season. He wasn’t great in Triple-A of late, either, batting .248/.350/.347 for Oklahoma City in August.

With rosters expanding today, the Dodgers will call up Freeland to give them more depth across the infield. The 25-year-old was hitting .231/.309/.313 with three home runs and a 30.5 percent strikeout rate in 223 plate appearances for the Dodgers this season.