Cody Snavely
Through the season’s early parts, the Dodgers and their fans have had the joy of watching their magical offseason come together in live action. The big three of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Shohei Ohtani have been as advertised, and the starting rotation additions of Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have been equally great.
Yet, despite these successes, the Dodgers still face challenges that need to be addressed. The team’s depth in the rotation and bullpen has been tested, leading to several strategic moves in recent weeks. However, the most pressing issue lies at the bottom of the batting order. The good news is that this could soon change with the imminent arrival of the highly touted Dodgers prospect, Andy Pages. His potential to transform the team’s batting order is a source of great anticipation.
The current bottom third of the order is a problem
The Dodgers’ current bottom three of their regular lineup consists of James Outman, Chris Taylor, and Gavin Lux. All three players have gotten off to disastrous starts to begin the 2024 season.
Gavin Lux‘s slow start is predictable. The 26-year-old former top prospect was playing his first regular-season games since the 2022 season after tearing his ACL/MCL last year during Spring Training.
The Dodgers, however, reassured Lux that he was the team’s everyday shortstop and would get the same opportunity that the club presented him last offseason. But after a sub .900 fielding percentage at the position, along with numerous throwing errors, the Dodgers pulled the plug early and moved all-star Mookie Betts to the position.
The Dodgers, in their shift, moved Gavin Lux back to second base, where he played a majority of his MLB career because former Dodgers Trea Turner and Corey Seager blocked him.
In 2022, Lux put up respectable numbers, hitting .276/.346/.399 with an OPS of .745 and a 109 OPS+ while also showcasing his speed, hitting seven triples. However, in 2024, the bat did not wake up as his .157/.218/.176 slash line and 40th percentile sprint speed (88th in 2022) have not been valuable to the offense.
James Outman is going through a similar production drought, which has led the Dodgers to hint at platooning the sophomore center fielder who finished in the top three in Rookie of the Year voting in 2023.
In 2024, Outman has put up an awful slash line, hitting .182/.286/.309 with twenty strikeouts, which was a problem last season when he struck out 31.9% of the time. Outman still provides solid defense in center, ranking in the 88th percentile in OAA (outs above average).
Chris Taylor is on another planet regarding his offensive struggles to the point where the Dodgers will have to decide soon on what to do with him.
Taylor is off to the worst start of his major league career, hitting .029/.167/.029 and in the middle of a 1-for-35 stretch with 18 strikeouts. Taylor has been a shell of himself, putting him in near unplayable territory when he is supposed to be the plug-and-play utility/platoon player.
While the Dodgers do not expect their entire bottom of the order to be all-stars this season, they do expect them to get on base. Between Taylor, Lux, and Outman, they have a combined OBP of .177, which is below the league average of .318 in 2024.
The Jason Heyward dilemma
The call-up of Andy Pages is largely because Jason Heyward has been sidelined with a “stiff” back and has shown little progress in recovery.
The Dodgers attempted to replace his left-handed production with Taylor Trammell, who was DFA’d by the Mariners at the beginning of April. However, the Dodgers quickly learned that despite his above-average defense in the outfield, Trammell was a below-average hitter unable to hit 88mph fastballs.
When Jason Heyward does come back, Dave Roberts asserts that he has missed enough time that he will likely require a rehab assignment, which would give Andy Pages even more time to prove his worth on the team.
Even when Heyward is potentially activated, that does not spell doom for Pages’ roster spot, as the bottom three of the Dodgers order could all be possible IL stints due to their weak performance.
Per Dave Roberts, there is no firm timetable for Heyward’s return, which gives Pages more opportunities.
Is Pages the solution for the Dodgers’ woes?
In case you missed it, the Dodgers called up the number three-ranked prospect (No.94 MLB.com), Andy Pages, who made his debut in yesterday’s 6-3 victory, batting 7th and manning it down in center field.
In his debut, Andy Pages collected his first hit, going 1-for-4. He will continue to get playing time against left-handed and right-handed pitching, which means over the next few weeks, Pages will have every opportunity to force the Dodgers’ hand.
Andy Pages missed nearly the entire 2023 season due to a torn labrum that required season-ending surgery. However, upon his return this spring, Pages posted elite numbers at big league camp, hitting .471/.571/1.000 with 9 RBI and two home runs.
Pages was ultimately optioned to Triple-A to get everyday at-bats since he had less than 20 career at-bats in Triple-A.
Pages has obliterated Triple-A pitching in the early stages of the 2024 season, tallying 73 plate appearances and recording a .371/.452/.694 slash line with five homers, three doubles, a triple, two steals, an 11% walk rate, and a 17.8% strikeout rate.
The emergence of Pages could spark the Dodgers’ lineup, which, aside from the top five hitters, has been widely inconsistent. But he will have to prove it to stay long-term.
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