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Dodgers’ injuries mean renewed opportunities for Alex Call, Alex Freeland
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- Dodgers’ injuries mean renewed opportunities for Alex Call, Alex Freeland
Welcome to The California Post's weekly Dodgers recap, where baseball writers Dylan Hernández and Jack Harris review the week that was, hand out very official awards and take stock of the state of the season.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Who will capitalize on opportunities in the wake of injuries to the Hernandezes?
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Over the first two months of the season, the Dodgers only had one real position-player injury to manage, when Mookie Betts missed five weeks with an oblique strain.
The Dodgers' Alex Freeland hopes to take advantage of his opportunity. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Then, just as they seemed to return to full health this week, they saw Kiké Hernández and Teoscar Hernández go down with injuries that have reshuffled their roster anew.
Kiké will likely be out for a couple months with an oblique strain. Teoscar is expected to miss at least a few weeks with a hamstring strain.
In the meantime, the club will have two important roles to fill. Which begs the question: Who will get, and take advantage of, the opportunities it all presents?
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The first name to watch is Alex Call . He will get a good chunk of playing time in left field, where the Dodgers are planning to fill Teoscar's void with a platoon. It will make him more than just a backup outfielder for the first time since the team acquired him at last year's trade deadline, providing him a chance to show he's more than just a bench bat.
Call has been productive in his limited playing time this year, batting .283 in 53 at-bats with four doubles, 10 RBIs and more walks (11) than strikeouts (8). He remains a disciplined hitter and tough out, with some of the lowest chase and whiff rates in the majors.
The Dodgers' Alex Call (12) will get a good chunk of playing time in left field after Teoscar Hernandez was injured. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
If the right-handed-hitting veteran can sustain that in a more prominent role now, it would not only help ease the loss of Teoscar (who had been one of the Dodgers' hottest hitters lately) but also help him earn more at-bats — especially as the Dodgers decide how to divvy playing time between him and left-handed minor-league call-up options Ward.
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A window has also opened for Alex Freeland , who was called back up to the majors earlier this week as Kiké's replacement.
A former top prospect now in his second MLB season, the switch-hitting Freeland is trying to improve on the .235 batting average and .646 OPS he posted to begin the season, after making the Opening Day roster coming out of spring training.
Those numbers weren't good enough to keep him in the big leagues when Betts returned. But now, Freeland is back and expected to get plenty of at-bats at second base, having impressed team officials by going down to Triple-A after being optioned and hitting four home runs in just 11 games.
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Andy Pages (10-for-28, 3 home runs, 4 doubles, 8 RBIs this week; .297 average, .883 OPS, MLB-leading 50 RBIs this season)
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This category might need to be renamed in Pages' honor.
Because so far this season, he has been its most common recipient.
The 25-year-old continued to impress this past week, taking the Dodgers' team lead with 13 home runs while becoming the first player in the majors this year to reach 50 RBIs (he's three clear of second-place CJ Abrams on that leaderboard).
On the season, Pages also ranks eighth in the National League in batting average and 11th in OPS.
With All-Star Game campaigning soon to get underway, it sets the third-year slugger up well to reach his first Midsummer Classic. Last year, Pages narrowly missed out on a selection after falling into a slump in late June and early July. Given the way he's going now, it's hard to see him missing out again.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Tanner Scott (4 scoreless innings, 7 strikeouts, 1 save this week; 1.14 ERA, 5-for-5 on saves this season)
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The Dodgers' historic bullpen scoreless streak might be over. But Tanner Scott's personal run of zeros remains alive and well.
The resurgent left-hander has not given up any runs in his last 12 appearances — earned, unearned, inherited or otherwise. In that stretch, he has allowed just four hits, two walks and struck out 19 of the 44 batters he has faced.
Suddenly, it has the $72 million signing and debut-season disappointment from last year looking like one of the best relievers in the majors again. His 1.14 ERA is 10th best among qualified relief pitchers this season. His 42.9% strikeout rate in May is fifth best for the month. And amid Edwin Díaz 's absence, he has given the team a new bullpen anchor, capable of closing out games, putting out fires in leverage situations and even getting more than three outs if needed.
Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images
PROSPECT OF THE WEEK
River Ryan (6 innings, 0 runs, 8 strikeouts in AAA start this week; 2.05 ERA this year)
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This was not the happiest week in the Dodgers' farm system, after former first-round pick Kendall George suffered a freak knee injury while jumping out of the way of the team bat dog in Double-A Tulsa.
But up in Triple-A, a familiar face took another important step toward getting back to the majors.
On Thursday night, highly touted right-hander River Ryan delivered perhaps the best outing of his professional career, not only by completing six innings for the first time but also giving up no runs and striking out eight batters.
For Ryan, 27, it was only his fifth start since returning from Tommy John surgery (plus a hamstring problem that plagued him in April). But already, he looks capable of returning to the big leagues, where he had a 1.33 ERA in four starts in 2024 before getting hurt.
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While the Dodgers have a full rotation now, they are also beginning a stretch of 19 games in 20 days. Perhaps there will be an opportunity in that stretch for Ryan to come up and, at the very least, provide some innings that can help manage the rest of the staff's workload.
FUTURE DODGER OF THE WEEK
(Where we identify a potential Dodgers' future acquisition — sometimes far-fetched, sometimes not)
Nolan McLean , RHP, Mets (ETA: 2029)
The Mets have a way of ruining everything they touch, which makes McLean's recent downturn particularly disconcerting. The rookie right-hander posted a 6.92 ERA over five starts in May. His last two starts were especially awful, as he was charged with 16 runs (13 earned) and 13 hits in nine combined innings.
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McLean could be at a fork in the road in his career, with one path leading to an All-Star Game and the other to him being labeled as a reclamation project. If he turns out to be on the latter course, why wouldn't the Dodgers take a chance on him? They once had their own sinker-heavy flamethrower in Dustin May and didn't give up on him until his sixth season. The Mets will give McLean every chance to succeed, but his situation would be worth keeping an eye on.
