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The Dodgers are expected to call up outfielder Alek Thomas from Triple-A Oklahoma City, with Andy Pages heading to the injured list due to a hand fracture, per Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic. That’s a significant blow to an outfield that has relied on Pages as an everyday center fielder, and it puts Thomas in position to make his Dodgers debut just months after the organization acquired him from Arizona.

Pages has been a fixture in center field for the big league club this season, and losing him to a hand fracture is genuinely rough. Hand injuries are tricky for hitters — even after they heal, grip strength and confidence at the plate can linger as issues. There’s no timeline mentioned yet, but fractures typically mean a multi-week absence at minimum. Pages had been holding down the position capably, and his absence leaves a real hole in the everyday lineup.

Thomas, of course, is a familiar name to anyone who followed the Diamondbacks’ 2023 World Series run. He was a key piece of that Arizona outfield before injuries and roster competition pushed him out of their long-term plans. The Dodgers brought him in earlier this year, and he’s made the most of his time in Oklahoma City. An .855 OPS at Triple-A is no joke — that’s a hitter who’s been productive and consistent at the highest minor league level. Most importantly, as Ardaya notes, Thomas can play center field. That’s the critical part. The Dodgers don’t have a ton of true center field options on the 40-man roster right now, and Thomas gives them a left-handed bat who has logged real innings at the position in the majors.

Thomas is a switch in profile from Pages — he’s a left-handed hitter who brings a different look to the lineup. He’s always been a solid defensive outfielder with good instincts and range, and his bat has come alive in the Pacific Coast League this year. If the OPS translates even partially to the majors, he could be more than just a stopgap. He’s got 162 games of big league experience under his belt from his time in Arizona, so this isn’t a prospect getting thrown into the deep end. He knows what a major league at-bat feels like.

For the Dodgers, the timing is tough but the solution is clean. You never want to lose a guy like Pages to a fracture in late August, especially with the stretch run heating up. But having Thomas sitting at Triple-A, mashing and playing center field every day, is exactly the kind of depth that separates good organizations from great ones. This is why you make those mid-tier acquisitions — so when something breaks (literally), you’ve got an answer. I’ll be watching to see how quickly Thomas settles in. He doesn’t need to be a star. He just needs to catch the ball in center and give us competitive at-bats. Based on what he’s done at OKC, there’s good reason to think he can do exactly that.

Source(s): Fabian Ardaya (The Athletic) | First reported: August 22, 2026 4:12 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers