Andy Pages wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire a year ago.
The Dodgers outfielder faced plenty of questions about his development. Here’s a guy who was supposed to be one of baseball’s better young talents, but he just couldn’t get things clicking offensively. Average doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Fast forward a few months, and Pages became one of the most important pieces on the Dodgers roster. Still is today.
That catch he made in Game 7 of the World Series? Without it, we’re probably having a very different conversation about how things went in Los Angeles.
The 25-year-old Cuban has quietly become crucial to this team’s success. With most of the roster already locked up with big contracts, it’s starting to look like Pages should be next in line for his payday.
That’s exactly what former MLB general manager and top insider Jim Bowden thinks the Dodgers should be working on right now.
“Pages had a solid sophomore season, but he struggled in the postseason and was benched in the World Series because of his difficulties picking up spin. He then spent the offseason hitting off a Trajekt machine, particularly focusing on hitting against a simulation of Paul Skenes and his velocity, shapes and sizes. The results of that hard work have shown up early in the season, as he’s off to a very fast start, hitting the ball harder and working the count better than he did in 2025. The Dodgers should try to ink him now to a long-term deal.”
Bowden’s take makes sense from multiple angles. Writing for The Athletic, he’s pointing to a player who’s clearly put in the work and is seeing results.
The timing works perfectly for Los Angeles. Pages isn’t hitting free agency until 2031, which gives them plenty of runway to negotiate.
If they can buy out those first few years of free agency with something that works for both sides, keeping a young player who’s proven he can produce at this level seems like the smart play. Especially when you consider how he’s bounced back from those postseason struggles.
The way I see it, locking up Pages now could be one of those moves that looks even better down the road.
