LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers coveted Tommy Edman’s ability to play multiple positions, especially up the middle, before they traded for him in July 2024, and was a big reason they signed the utility man to a five-year contract extension that winer. Now that he’s back from surgery to repair an ankle he sprained during his St. Louis Cardinals days, Edman’s ankle should allow him to play all over the field again.
“Getting the surgery was a tough decision because I knew I was going to be out for a little
bit. But after speaking with the doctor, we determined that it was going to have a high success, a high probability of getting back to 100 percent,” Edman said Tuesday at Dodger Stadium. “So I decided to go through with it. It’s feeling great now. It took maybe a little longer than expected, but I’m feeling back to normal again.”
Edman said he had one stretch early in the 2025 season when he felt pretty good, but then he sprained the ankle in May and missed two weeks, then it lingered for the rest of the season. The second time he sprained his ankle was in August while running the bases, which cost him five more weeks on the injured list.
That second IL trip was on his mind during his three full weeks of games on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City, as he got back into game shape.
“I was definitely a little tentative the first week, getting back to playing baseball again, going full speed around the bases. Then by the third week I definitely felt totally comfortable, especially rounding the bases,” Edman said. “Just getting back into game action was the big step, the unpredictability of what might happen during a game, whether it’s a weird play on defense or a weird play on the basepaths. Just getting really comfortable with that was really important these last few weeks.”
Getting that normalcy took some time, with Edman sidelined for the first 73 games of the season, a little longer than he expected.
“With surgery, a lot of times it’s not a super linear progression,” he said. “Just having some ups and downs, and just having the faith that it was going to get back to 100 percent eventually, and having the patience to let the whole process play out.”
Edman said he will wear an ankle brace, but no longer has to heavily tape his right ankle like he did for most of the 2025 season.
“I’m confident it’s strong enough,” he said.
The Dodgers will ease Edman back at first, maybe starting three or four games per week. Dave Roberts said he’ll likely play second base, third base, and left field.
“That’s kind of what I’ve come to expect over the course of my career, is just filling in wherever needed, and playing a bunch of different spots,” Edman said. “I love being able to be valuable wherever I play on defense. To be able to play outfield, be able to play infield, and feel confident in that first step and getting the burst, it’s gonna be nice, and hopefully I can have a good defensive season.”
That first step was evident on a few plays with Triple-A Oklahoma City while on rehab, first on this diving play at third base on June 5.
Then again in center field last Friday.
Edman, who also played 49 regular season games in center field during his parts of two seasons with the Dodgers, said he’s starting at third base on Wednesday against Rays left-hander Shane McClanahan.
“He’s one of our best hitters versus left-handed pitching,” Roberts said of Edman, who has a career 118 wRC+ against southpaws. “If there’s an opportunity to get him in there to get three at-bats against a starter, I’m going to think very closely about that. Because the one silver bullet versus a lefty, like [Miguel Rojas] last night, is valuable, but also getting three certain at-bats is helpful, too.”
