Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
We’ve all been witness to Andy Pages‘ breakout season in 2026. Well, at least the first half or so. He has cooled off considerably the last few months.
Because of certain veterans struggling *cough*Kyle Tucker*cough*, Pages has been thrust into the No. 2 spot in the lineup. Let’s be honest with ourselves: Pages is not a No. 2 hitter — using any era of what a prototypical No. 2 hitter was/is. That’s quite the statement when the numbers would argue otherwise:
| Batter | AVG | OBP | SLG | wRC+ |
| 2026 Pages | .267 | .334 | .461 | 117 |
| 2026 Pages 2nd | .254 | .336 | .431 | 111 |
| 2026 MLB 2nd | .254 | .338 | .435 | 114 |
I’m not one to usually argue with the numbers, but in this case, I might make an exception.
After watching Pages flail against Andres Munoz in the ninth inning on Tuesday night, it would have felt a lot better to see Edman up there rather than Pages. Of course, Pages went out and had his batting performance in nearly three weeks on Wednesday night, but the point still stands.
Pages has been hitting in the No. 2 spot for two months now (May 26), and the results haven’t been as good as when he hit lower in the order — for whatever reason. If you’re into win probability added (WPA), that tells a pretty clear story.
- Before May 26: .502
- Since May 26: -.629
Who knows if it’s a mental thing, the league catching up to him or what, but Pages just hasn’t been as good in the No. 2 spot in the lineup. Of course, the Dodgers haven’t had great production out of that spot all season.
If Tucker and Mookie Betts aren’t going to be good enough to hit there, then the Dodgers have the perfect player to try in the spot: Tommy Edman.
Edman, who missed the first almost four months of the season recovering from offseason surgery and finally seems to be as healthy as he was when the Dodgers traded for him at the 2024 trade deadline. In 32 games this season, Edman is hitting .330/.403/.481 with a 147 wRC+. Small sample size applies, but it’s an encouraging month-plus of data at the plate. And if you’re worried about this splits, Edman has actually been better against righties (150 wRC+) than lefties (140 wRC+).
While Pages has a distinct advantage in the power department, Edman makes more contact and has a much better eye at the plate — not by much, but enough to make a difference, especially since Pages has struggled this month.
Then again, maybe the No. 2 spot in the lineup is just cursed for the Dodgers in 2026. As a team, they have a collective .229/.305/.348 batting line with a 82 wRC+. Even Freddie Freeman, who is having an outstanding age-36 season, has hit just .213/.276/.263 with a 49 wRC+ in the No. 2 spot (87 plate appearances). Sometimes, the only explanation is “baseball.”
——
Despite this, the scenario doesn’t appear to be in the cards at present.
Dave Roberts said he’s thought about dropping Andy Pages in the lineup, but feels it’s good for Pages’ development now and moving forward to stay in that spot. If he was to make a change, it would be with Tommy Edman.
— Blake (@ByBlakeWilliams) July 29, 2026
Mookie was dropped more for lineup construction reasons.
Batting order position generally doesn’t mean a whole lot. Sure, you’re not going to have Teoscar Hernandez (sorry, Teo) batting leadoff or anything, but moving Edman up to the No. 2 spot would help lengthen the lineup by having Pages’ power bat lower in the lineup and hitting between the likes of Max Muncy and Tucker. When Will Smith comes back, the lineup should stabilize even more, and we’ve seen Smith do some things as the No. 2 hitter.
In the end, though, second basemen bat second.
