{"id":123839,"date":"2026-06-15T21:07:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T01:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=123839"},"modified":"2026-06-15T21:08:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T01:08:43","slug":"dodgers-utility-player","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/06\/15\/dodgers-utility-player\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers Getting an Important Utility Player Back Tomorrow"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The \u00a0Los Angeles Dodgers are getting an important utility player back tomorrow. With versatile veteran <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/e\/edmanto01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-06-15_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tommy Edman<\/a> making his return. Edman has yet to make his season debut with the Dodgers after <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/11\/11\/dodgers-infielder-outfielder-edman\/\" target=\"_self\">undergoing major ankle surgery<\/a> last winter, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic. No word on who will be sent down. However, <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/e\/espinsa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-06-15_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Santiago Espinal<\/a> might be the odd man out.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Tommy Edman will be activated off the IL tomorrow as planned, Dave Roberts said, but the Dodgers will ramp him up to full-time. Expect Edman to start 3-4 games a week and to see time at 2B, 3B, LF.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/katiejwoo\/status\/2066662492366119211?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 15, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Is the Ankle Finally Fixed?<\/h2>\n<p>Tommy Edman had been battling a chronic ankle injury before becoming a Dodger in July of 2024. He <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/07\/29\/dodgers-three-team-trade\/\" target=\"_self\">was on the Injured List<\/a> when he left the St. Louis Cardinals for Los Angeles. When he did join the team, his impact was immediate and eventually resulted in the National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_123853\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-123853\" style=\"width: 5078px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/USATSI_28601550.webp\" alt=\"Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Tommy Edman receives his ring during the World Series ring ceremony before a game vs the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on March 27, 2026.\" width=\"5078\" height=\"3383\" class=\"size-full wp-image-123853\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/USATSI_28601550.webp 5078w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/USATSI_28601550-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/USATSI_28601550-600x400.webp 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/06\/USATSI_28601550-1200x800.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5078px) 100vw, 5078px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-123853\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mar 27, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Tommy Edman (25) receives his ring during the World Series ring ceremony before the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, he<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/05\/02\/dodgers-tommy-edman-day-to-day-injured-ankle\/\" target=\"_self\"> tweaked the ankle<\/a> early last season and visited the IL again. When Edman returned, he was unable to be fully productive as his offense was down considerably. His batting average was twenty points lower than normal for his career. Most importantly, his range in center field was severely limited, and he was substituted in the field during the late innings.<\/p>\n<h2>Versatility Returns<\/h2>\n<p>During his extended rehab at Triple-A Oklahoma City, Edman has been patrolling center field with no ankle issues. He is expected to play multiple positions when he returns. His timing at the plate may need patience; however, if he comes close to his normal production, the Dodgers will be ecstatic. The options replacing him this season have been below average. The shortfall has been exacerbated by <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hernaen02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-06-15_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Enrique Hernandez&#8217;s<\/a> prolonged absence as well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBierxd1yP\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3120px; aspect-ratio: 3120\/2080;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<h2>More Returns on the Way<\/h2>\n<p>Manager <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=roberda07,roberda05,roberda03,roberda06&amp;search=Dave+Roberts&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-06-15_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dave Roberts<\/a> said <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hernate01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-06-15_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Teoscar Hernandez<\/a> could begin <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/05\/28\/dodgers-calling-up-top-prospect-to-replace-veteran-outfielder\/\" target=\"_self\">a rehab assignment<\/a> as early as this weekend. Hernandez has been on the IL for a few weeks due to a hamstring strain. Hernandez said that this is a big week to access his recovery process. His timetable is probably dependent on if he can do running drills with no pain. In addition, closer <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=diazed04,diazed03,diaz--005edw&amp;search=Edwin+D\u00edaz&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-06-15_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Edwin Diaz<\/a> is scheduled<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/04\/20\/dodgers-place-edwin-diaz-on-injured-list\/\" target=\"_self\"> to throw a bullpen session,<\/a> \u00a0and is on target to return soon after the All-Star Break<\/p>\n<p>For the Dodgers, nothing is certain. However, they seem to be trending in the right direction on the injury front.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The \u00a0Los Angeles Dodgers are getting an important utility player back tomorrow. With versatile veteran Tommy Edman making his return. Edman has yet to make his season debut with the Dodgers after undergoing major ankle surgery last winter, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic. No word on who will be sent down. However, Santiago [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5226,"featured_media":123852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33,1071,35],"tags":[257,1931,1083,3310,1198,3899],"class_list":["post-123839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dodgers","category-mlb","category-news","tag-dave-roberts","tag-edwin-diaz","tag-enrique-hernandez","tag-santiago-espinal","tag-teoscar-hernandez","tag-tommy-edman"],"modified_by":"Augustus Oswald, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123839"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123839\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123854,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123839\/revisions\/123854"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}