The Dodgers’ hottest hitter has become a not-so-secret weapon for the team
(Image Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
When you think of the current star hitters of the Los Angeles Dodgers, you think of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Kyle Tucker. Without a doubt, those guys are star players. The four of them have a combined annual average (AAV) salary of a little over $187 million. Of course, all of them have deferments, but the Dodgers are willing to put their money on the table, and a lot of it, for the purpose of winning. The $187 million on those four players, which is already a significant payroll to make a Postseason push as it is, doesn’t even include star pitchers like Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Edwin Diaz, and more. Those four big-name pitchers have a combined AAV salary of over $113 million. In other words, eight players make up about $300 million in salary, without deferments. That is absolutely unbelievable.
The standout player for the Dodgers right now is still on his rookie, pre-arbitration contract. He is a 25-year-old outfielder from Cuba, and soon he will be known as one of the best players in Major League Baseball. His name: Andy Pages. He got called up to the Dodgers in 2024 and is a former top-three prospect in the Dodgers’ organization, and has made a name for himself, especially last year and this year. He is a superb hitter and fielder. Most notably, making a World Series-saving catch in Game 7 last year, to send the game into extras. Pages was a huge part in why the Dodgers won their second straight World Series, because if the ball dropped when Pages bumped into Kiké Hernandez, the Blue Jays would have won the World Series.
This season, Pages has been an extremely hot hitter. Through 12 games, he has batted to a .413 average, with 19 hits, including three doubles and three home runs. His on-base-plus-slugging (OPS) at the time of writing this article is 1.111, which means that, at least right now, he is an elite hitter.
In a few years, when Andy Pages hits free agency, if he continues his power surge and consistent contact hitting, as well as his amazing defense in center field, he will demand a pretty penny in his new contract. That is, unless the Dodgers don’t extend him before he hits free agency. Soon, Andy Pages, already known to Dodgers fans, will have his greatness and talent appreciated by all baseball fans and other MLB organizations, and will be seen as a perennial superstar.
