Andy Pages plays sim game, on track to return for Dodgers' next series

Andy Pages played in a simulated game and is on track to return for the Dodgers' next series, MLB.com's Sonja Chen reported — one more piece of a Los Angeles roster that has spent the better part of September in careful, rolling reassembly.

What happened

Per Sonja Chen's report for MLB.com, Pages participated in a sim game as part of his recovery and is expected to be available when the Dodgers' next series begins. The club has not issued a formal roster announcement, and the reporting appropriately reflects the nature of pre-activation timelines: things are on track, not yet finalized.

The Dodgers' upcoming schedule shows a series against the San Diego Padres opening Tuesday, September 22 at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium — the next multi-game set after Sunday's home game against the San Francisco Giants. If the trajectory holds, that Padres series is the likely target window for Pages' return to the active mix.

Why it matters

The Dodgers clinched the NL West title and their fifth straight division crown, as reported here earlier this week, but the postseason picture still has meaningful moving parts. Their magic number to secure the No. 2 NL seed over the Braves sits at 6, with 12 still needed to claim the No. 1 seed over the Brewers. Every healthy outfield option matters when the margin between a first-round bye and a more difficult bracket path can hinge on seeding.

Pages returning gives manager Dave Roberts another option in a lineup that has been navigating multiple simultaneous absences. The September roster expansion — which under general league rules allows clubs to carry 28 players through the end of the regular season — creates room to manage these returns without forcing immediate difficult decisions. The real calculus, though, is about who is sharp and ready when the calendar flips to October, and a clean sim game is a meaningful step toward that answer.

Is Pages returning for the Padres series?

Per Sonja Chen's report, Pages is on track to return for the Dodgers' next series, and the next multi-game series on the schedule is the Padres' visit beginning September 22. That timing has not been specified as a formal activation date by the club, and the reporting leaves appropriate room for the sim game to serve as the final checkpoint before any official move is made. The procedural gap between "on track" and "on the roster" is real, even if it tends to close quickly when a sim game goes smoothly.

The numbers

The Dodgers carry a 94-60 record (.610), sit first in the NL West, and have won their last two games heading into Sunday's matchup with San Francisco at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium.

The magic number figures — 6 for the No. 2 NL seed, 12 for the No. 1 seed — are the arithmetic that gives the final week of the regular season its shape. The division title is settled; the seeding race is the remaining competitive variable, and it is one the Dodgers are well-positioned to influence with a healthy roster.

Where the club stands

At 94-60, Los Angeles is in a comfortable position atop the NL West, but the final stretch of the regular season is less about winning the division — that work is done — and more about fine-tuning the roster and protecting arms ahead of the postseason. The two-game winning streak is a pleasant backdrop, and a home schedule through the final week offers a degree of control over how the club manages workloads and sequences returning players.

The Padres series beginning September 22 carries some divisional texture as well, given San Diego's own postseason positioning. For the Dodgers, it doubles as a potential re-entry point for Pages, which gives the series a secondary layer of roster interest beyond the standings.

What we don't know yet

The sim game is a positive sign, but no formal activation has been announced. The exact date Pages would be added to the active roster, and whether any corresponding roster move would be required, remains unspecified in Sonja Chen's reporting.

Pages is one of several Dodgers players working through the injury queue at the same time, and the queue is a busy one. Shohei Ohtani is progressing in hitting rehab and a regular-season return remains possible, per earlier reporting. Blake Snell, who exited a start against the Reds after one inning with left groin tightness — a development reported two days ago — is expected to make at least one more start before the postseason despite that groin issue, per subsequent reporting. Roki Sasaki was activated from the injured list and is scheduled to make one more start before the regular season ends, as reported Friday. Edwin Díaz was expected to be reinstated from the IL as of two days ago, with manager Dave Roberts indicating he would be used in low-leverage situations only.

That is a considerable number of moving parts for one pitching staff and one outfield to absorb across a single week of September baseball. Pages' sim game represents one of the cleaner-looking data points in the bunch — a position player, a controlled environment, a positive result, a clear next series to target. The rotation questions are thornier.

What to watch

The Padres series beginning September 22 is the window to watch for a Pages roster move. If no setbacks emerge following the sim game, a formal club announcement could come before or shortly after that series opens at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium.

Beyond Pages, the broader question is how Roberts sequences the returning pieces across the final days of the regular season. Snell's groin situation, Ohtani's hitting rehab progress, and Sasaki's scheduled start all feed into a postseason roster picture that is still being assembled. The NL West title is framed and on the wall; the seeding race and the health of the rotation are the storylines worth tracking through the final week.

For now, Pages completing a sim game without incident is the kind of quiet, procedural good news that a 94-60 club in full October preparation mode is happy to receive — and happy to keep receiving, one checkpoint at a time.