Dave Roberts Not Ready to Give Up On Andy Pages After Early Struggles for Dodgers

It’s been a rough start to the year for Andy Pages.

The outfielder has struggled both at the plate and in the outfield defensively. As of Tuesday, Pages is hitting a meager .137 with an OPS of .529. He has only seven hits in 51 at-bats, three of those being extra-base hits.

More news: Dodgers, White Sox Discussed Blockbuster Trade Involving Luis Robert Jr and James Outman

While he technically has no errors, Pages has misplayed multiple balls which should’ve been outs had a more experienced player been in center.

When asked about Pages and his struggles at the plate, manager Dave Roberts wants to give him roughly 100 more at-bats before any substantial change may be made from a personnel standpoint.

“I think for Andy’s situation, I’ve used that 150 plate appearance benchmark,” Roberts said. “I think Kiké (Hernandez_ figured some things out offensively the last couple days, and it’s worked, that we’re going to start seeing some better at-bats. It was good to see (Miguel Rojas) got a couple hits.

“But these are our guys right now, so I’m going to just continue to run them out there and sort of mix and match. And obviously I got to find a way to include Chris Taylor as well, to get him some at-bats too.”

To be fair, Pages wasn’t supposed to be in this position.

He is a natural corner outfielder. Once the team re-signed Teoscar Hernandez and added Michael Conforto, Pages’ shot at starting ultimately led him to the center field spot.

The 24-year-old does have some real pop as he demonstrated during the Dodgers’ World Series run. The profile is there for him to be a legitimate everyday player — and it’s a testament to him that L.A. would run him out in center in order to maximize said upside.

However, the initial preseason plan likely had Tommy Edman starting in center with newly-signed Korean infielder Hyeseong Kim manning the second base position. Kim struggled to acclimate to MLB velocity, and as such was optioned to the minor leagues. Edman was slotted into what’s likely his best position, and as such, Pages moved to center.

It’ll be fascinating to see what the Dodgers do if Pages still can’t hit. James Outman is an in-house option they could look into. Edman could move back to center field if Kim comes up and solidifies himself as a big leaguer. The speedy Esteury Ruiz was acquired right when the season started to further depth up the middle. Lastly, another trade could be looked into — say, for Luis Robert Jr. of the Chicago White Sox?

Roberts is a players’ manager, and will support Pages no matter what as he works through this rough patch. Having said that, if he doesn’t turn it around quickly, the Dodgers will have no other choice than to look into other options.

More news: Why Hyeseong Kim Needs to Be Called Up

Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Have you joined our Discord Channel yet? Be a part of the ultimate Dodgers Nation community and get VIP Nation Access! Don’t miss out on real-time Dodgers talk, call-in access to Dodgers Dougout, behind-the-scenes content, exclusive interviews, giveaways, and more!