Add The California Post on Google With MLB’s September roster expansion going into effect on Tuesday, the Dodgers are adding a familiar face amid their recent offensive struggles.
Switch-hitting infielder Alex Freeland is set to rejoin the team, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed, giving the 25-year-old former top prospect another chance to prove himself at the big-league level.
Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Alex Freeland (76) singles to left at the bottom of the fifth inning during a game against the Texas Rangers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif., on Friday, April 10, 2026. Carlin Stiehl for CA Post The promotion, which was first reported by The Athletic, will mark Freeland’s third different stint in the majors this year. In 72 games earlier this season, he hit .231 with three home runs, 19 RBIs and a .622 OPS.
The move also comes at a perilous time for the Dodgers lineup, which ranked fifth-worst in MLB in scoring and 10th-worst in OPS during a 13-14 slump in the month of August.
The club’s biggest current need is in the outfield, where Andy Pages is out with a broken hand in center and Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández have suffered slumps in the corner spots.
Those problems had raised the possibility that Tuesday’s expanded roster spot could go to one of the Dodgers’ many highly-touted outfield prospects, with triple-A slugger James Tibbs III believed to be under the most serious consideration.
However, Tibbs isn’t currently on the team’s crowded 40-man roster, which will get even tighter on Tuesday with Will Smith coming off the 60-day injured list.
And while he could still be an option to come up later this month –– he currently ranks second in the Pacific Coast League this year in home runs (27), RBIs (96) and OPS (.965) –– the team went with the logistically simpler move of calling up Freeland in hopes he can help check several important boxes.
First and foremost, Freeland will give the Dodgers another left-handed-hitting option off the bench, something they’ve been short on during their recent scuffles.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Alex Freeland (76) sprints home to score a run against the Baltimore Orioles in the second inning of a baseball game on Friday, June 19, 2026, in Los Angeles. Wally Skalij for the CA Post Perhaps more importantly, his presence could also allow utilityman Tommy Edman (who has primarily played second base this year) to shift to the outfield more often.
Edman can help fill in for Pages’ void in center, where Kiké Hernández and Alek Thomas have largely split time of late. Or, as a stronger left-handed hitter, Edman could also be a potential platoon partner in left with Hernández, whose struggles against right-handed pitching this year have prompted the Dodgers to consider trimming his playing time.
Freeland’s personal track record, of course, offers no guarantee of impactful production.
While his big-league numbers earlier this year were an improvement upon his rookie-season stats (he hit just .190 in 29 games in 2025), his OPS+ of 75 was still well below league-average. Also, since returning to triple-A in late July, he batted just .257 with only eight extra-base hits and a .720 OPS in the hitter-friendly PCL.
The Dodgers are expecting further reinforcements later this month.
Pages is scheduled to be back some time near the end of the regular season. Backup catcher Dalton Rushing is also expected to return from a slightly torn ligament in his elbow to at least be a left-handed pinch-hitting threat (though his timeline is still unclear, and manager Dave Roberts said it remains unlikely Rushing will return to catching duties this year).
But for now, in what will be his latest chance to display improvement as a major-league hitter, the Dodgers will see if Freeland can give them some sort of jolt.
