Dodgers Reinstate Sasaki and Pages Ahead of Postseason Push

Los Angeles activated right-hander Roki Sasaki and center fielder Andy Pages from the Injured List with the playoffs approaching.

The Los Angeles Dodgers activated right-hander Roki Sasaki and outfielder Andy Pages from the Injured List on Tuesday. To clear roster space, the club optioned catcher Eliezer Alfonzo and right-hander Emmet Sheehan to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Sasaki had been out for several weeks while a blister on his throwing hand healed. Before the injury, he had gone 3-0 with a 2.63 ERA in seven starts after the All-Star break, and manager Dave Roberts said the right-hander will make one more regular-season start. Sasaki has volunteered to pitch in relief, though his postseason role has not been settled, particularly with Blake Snell exiting a start last week because of groin tightness.

Pages had been sidelined for more than a month with a fractured hand suffered when he was hit by a pitch in mid-August. He had surgery to insert a screw in the hand and skipped a rehab assignment, relying on batting cage work to regain his timing. An All-Star this season, Pages was batting .272 with 21 home runs before the injury.

Pages is set to return to center field, allowing Tommy Edman to shift back to the infield, where he would platoon with Miguel Rojas and Max Muncy depending on the opposing pitcher. Edman is 3 for 42 at the plate recently, though his last hit was a game-tying home run against the San Francisco Giants.

Both players have less than a week of regular-season games to shake off rust before the Dodgers begin their pursuit of a third consecutive World Series title.