Just three weeks into the regular season, Pages’ major league debut is arriving sooner than expected, too.
Pages is expected to be called up by the Dodgers, multiple people with knowledge of the situation unauthorized to speak publicly confirmed Tuesday, after a blistering start to the year in triple-A Oklahoma City that saw the 23-year-old Cuba native bat .371 with five home runs and 15 RBI in 15 games.
While Pages was on track to make his MLB debut this year, his call-up comes after just 16 total games in triple-A the past two seasons — and only 10 months after he underwent season-ending surgery for a torn labrum last June.
In the wake of that procedure, Dodgers officials entered this spring cautioning that Pages might need time to fully regain form.
Instead, after going eight for 17 with two home runs in Cactus League play, the team’s top-ranked outfield prospect was named by manager Dave Roberts last month as one of the club’s biggest spring training surprises.
“I think, given what he went through last year with the shoulder surgery and how he performed this spring, that’s been the biggest pleasant surprise,” Roberts said of Pages, who is the team’s No. 3 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
A career .262 hitter in the minors, Pages continued to escalate his game with Oklahoma City.
After injuring his shoulder in his triple-A debut last year, Pages dominated the level through two weeks this season. In 62 at-bats, he had 23 hits (nine of them for extra bases), eight walks and only 13 strikeouts. His 1.146 on-base-plus-slugging percentage was third-best in the Pacific Coast League. He also split his time between two positions, playing center and right in a potential preview of what the Dodgers might ask of him in MLB.
Pages’ arrival comes as the Dodgers have looked to bolster the bottom of their lineup. Entering Tuesday, the team’s .187 batting average from its Nos. 6-9 hitters ranked fourth worst in the majors. Depth in the outfield has become a recent concern, too, with Jason Heyward on the injured list for a back injury and James Outman, Chris Taylor and Kiké Hernández all struggling at the plate.
Between that and Pages’ own impressive play this month, the pathway toward an early call-up was suddenly paved. Pages is officially on his way to the majors. And the Dodgers are hoping he can help the bottom half of their order snap an early-season malaise.