Alden GonzalezSep 10, 2025, 09:40 PM ET
CloseESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.
LOS ANGELES — Tommy Edman came off the injured list and started in center field on Wednesday, providing a glimpse at what the Los Angeles Dodgers’ alignment might look like at full strength.
Edman’s return, after missing the last five weeks with a recurrence of a right ankle injury, pushed Andy Pages from center field to left, with Teoscar Hernandez remaining in right and the struggling Michael Conforto relegated to the bench.
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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Edman will get the majority of his starts against opposing left-handed pitchers — like Kyle Freeland, the Colorado Rockies’ starter on Wednesday — and that Conforto will still be in the lineup when the Dodgers face righties.
Edman is a switch-hitter who has fared better this season against lefties (.737 OPS) than righties (.647), but is navigating a down year altogether, slashing .228/.281/.396 in 86 games. His presence should at least improve the team’s defense, though the ideal setup has Pages in right field because of his superior arm strength.
Hernandez has graded out as one of the worst right fielders in the sport this season, with minus-nine outs above average, but Roberts left him there because of his comfortability at the position — while adding that his defense has improved of late.
“I’m toying with it,” Roberts said of flipping Pages and Hernandez. “Obviously like Andy in right, like the arm. Teo finished the season last year in left field [after Mookie Betts returned to right], so we’ve shown we can win a championship with him in left field. Not quite there yet, but thinking about it. And a lot of it is contingent on how Tommy looks as well.”
Edman, 30, missed a couple weeks at the start of May with an injury to the same ankle and struggled upon returning, prompting thoughts that he might have come back too early. This time, he played in five rehab games for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate, starting either in center field or at designated hitter. Roberts wants to see Edman move around in games before determining how he’ll split his time between center field and second base, which essentially determines whether infielder Miguel Rojas or outfielder Alex Call starts against lefties.
“I think they’re probably about the same right now,” Edman said about his ability to play either position. “It’s not really [where] one will feel way better than the other. I guess I won’t really know until I play both positions, but I think the biggest thing is just gonna be the first step. I feel like I’ll get a better feel for that when I have to make a couple tough plays out there.”
Edman, whose activation prompted journeyman outfielder Justin Dean to be sent back to the minor leagues, is the latest in a string of Dodgers players to return off the IL, following third baseman Max Muncy and lefty reliever Alex Vesia earlier this week.
Outside of backup catcher Dalton Rushing, who should return at some point next week, the Dodgers are currently whole on the position-player side. Their offense has surprisingly underwhelmed this season, especially lately, ranking 24th in the majors in runs per game since the start of July. They hope that now is the time when it finally start to turn.
Said Roberts: “I think that we’ve all been waiting for our guys to come back to health and kind of see what we look like as the ballclub that we all envisioned.”