Call, Freeland Get Opportunity Amid Dodgers Injuries: May 2026

Injuries Open Door for Call, Freeland to Get Extended Look

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CONFIRMED

With the Dodgers’ injury list continuing to grow, outfielder Alex Call and infielder Alex Freeland are getting another crack at extended major league playing time, per Jack Harris at the New York Post. The team’s mounting health concerns have thinned the roster enough that both players — who have bounced between the big league club and the minors — now find themselves with a real chance to stake a claim to everyday roles.

Call has been a journeyman outfielder who has kicked around multiple organizations before landing with the Dodgers. He’s the type of player every contending team needs on the fringes — a left-handed hitting outfielder who can play all three spots defensively and offers solid on-base skills. He’s never been a prospect who lit up top-100 lists, but he’s a grinder who gets the most out of his ability. When he’s been up with the Dodgers this season, he’s shown decent plate discipline and a willingness to work deep counts, which is exactly what you want from a bench piece being thrust into a bigger role. The question has always been whether his bat can produce enough against major league pitching to hold down a spot, and now he’s getting the runway to answer that.

Freeland is a different story. He’s a younger player with legitimate defensive chops at the infield corners and shortstop, and the Dodgers have been high on his versatility. He came up through our system as a solid defender first, but the bat has been developing. He’s shown flashes of gap power and an improving approach at the plate during his stints in Oklahoma City. For Freeland, this is less about proving he belongs and more about showing he can handle the everyday grind of a major league season — something the Dodgers need to evaluate with the trade deadline looming and decisions to make about where to allocate resources.

I think the bigger picture here is straightforward: this is what separates good organizations from average ones. The Dodgers have built enough depth that when injuries hit — and they’ve hit hard this year — the next guys up aren’t complete unknowns. Call and Freeland aren’t stars, but they’re competent players who’ve been developed within the system (or brought in specifically for situations like this). That’s not an accident.

The flip side is that we’re relying on these guys because the injury situation is genuinely rough. DJ Stewart‘s foot not responding to treatment and Blake Snell moving to the 60-day IL have created real holes, not just depth concerns. Call and Freeland getting opportunities is a good thing for their careers, but it also underscores how thin we’ve been stretched. If either one can grab hold of a role and produce — even at league-average levels — it takes some pressure off the front office at the deadline. That’s the best-case scenario here, and honestly, I like our chances with both of them more than some might expect.

Source(s): Jack Harris (New York Post) | First reported: May 30, 2026 7:43 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers


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