LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers activated somebody off the injured list for the third consecutive day. Wednesday is Tommy Edman’s turn after missing over five weeks with a right ankle sprain.
During his rehab assignment in Triple-A, Edman played three of his five games with Oklahoma City as designated hitter. His other two games were in center field, which is where he figures to play a lot of now that he’s back with a healthy ankle. Before going back on the injured list in August, Edman played almost exclusively
in the infield for the previous two months, with 38 of his last 40 starts coming at either second base or third base.
Edman got off to a fast start this season with eight home runs in his first 24 games, though he hit only four homers over his last 62 contests. Most of his downturn coincides with first injuring his ankle in late April, after which he missed 16 games.
Before landing on the IL the first time, Edman was hitting .252/.295/.523 with a 120 wRC+. Since then, he hit .214/.273/.323 with a 67 wRC+ before getting placed on the injured list a second time, a period that was also briefly interrupted by a broken toe.
The Dodgers need the most help in the outfield, with porous defense in both corners. Michael Conforto has been one of the worst players in baseball offensively and defensively this season. Teoscar Hernández since missing time with a groin strain in May is hitting just .220/.264/.399 with a 81 wRC+, and that’s including his two-homer game on Tuesday night.
Even Andy Pages has struggled of late, hitting .237/.284/.402 with an 89 wRC+ since the All-Star break. Dodgers outfielders as a group since the beginning of August are hitting only .236/.295/.409 with a 95 wRC+ that ranks 20th in MLB.
The Dodgers outfield needs all the help it can get. Getting Edman back is a start.
Justin Dean was technically a part of that outfield for the last month, but had a very specific, limited role. Dean was active for 30 games, played in 18 of them and batted only twice. He never started, played a total of 23 2/3 defensive innings in seven games. He was 0-for-2 with a strikeout, pinch-ran three times and was successful in his one stolen base attempt.
Dean was optioned back to Triple-A Oklahoma City to make roster room for Edman.
