Alex

Freeland

With Dalton Rushing returning from the injured list on Friday, someone needed to get the boot from the team’s bench to make room and unfortunately Freeland pulled the short straw this time around. The 25-year-old infielder has slashed .234/.327/.325 with four homers, 21 RBI and four stolen bases in 269 plate appearances with the Dodgers on the season.

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.

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.

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.

Freeland heads back to the minors with Enrique Hernández returning from the injured list for Tuesday’s game against the Mariners. The 24-year-old youngster last started a game for the Dodgers back on July 7. He’s been a non-factor for fantasy purposes as a seldom utilized bench player.

The plan appears to be for him to get regular days off initially. There was some thought of Hernández returning this weekend, but the Dodgers will hold off until the series in Sacramento. Ryan Ward figures to lose his spot when Hernández is activated, and Tommy Edman will begin playing more second base at Alex Freeland’s expense.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated that Freeland will receive more playing time than Hyeseong Kim while both are on the active roster. The 24-year-old infielder is back with Los Angeles after Enrique Hernández hit the injured list with a significant tear in his oblique muscle. He’s hit .235 (23-for-98) with two homers and eight RBI in 112 plate appearances over 33 games in the big leagues this season.

Alex Freeland is coming back up to join the Dodgers. Hernández made it through just 1 1/2 games after missing the first two months following elbow surgery, but that’s fine... he’s really just here for October.

With Mookie Betts (oblique) off the injured list, the Dodgers needed to make a move. This comes as a bit of a surprise since Freeland has been playing mostly second base with Betts sidelined, while Hyeseong Kim has been at shortstop. It seems that the Dodgers will move Kim over to second base when Betts returns. Kim has been hitting better, slashing .289/.353/.395 in 29 games with one home run, eight RBI, and five steals. He should remain deep league relevant if he continues to get starts.