SAN DIEGO – Tommy Edman has hit the ground running – something that is easier to do now that his ankle is fully healthy.
In his first nine games since returning from ankle surgery last fall, Edman was 11 for 29 (.379) with two doubles and a triple. A better left-handed hitter throughout his career, the switch-hitting Edman has even gone 8 for 21 (.381) from the right side.
“I feel like this is kind of one of the rare times where both swings feel good, both from the right and left,” Edman said. “It’s really tough to maintain both swings over the course of the season, so I’m just happy that I feel that way right now.”
Part of the reason Edman couldn’t say that in recent years was the chronic problems with his ankle. Those were addressed following the 2025 season when he had surgery to remove bone spurs and repair a ligament in his right ankle.
“Yeah, it feels great,” he said of the ankle’s condition now. “It’s been a couple years since I’ve really felt this good, besides that month that I had beginning of last year. So now there’s a lot of freedom in it, just knowing that I can just go out and play baseball and not worry about getting hurt again.”
Being healthy has allowed Edman to settle into a consistent pre-game routine, something he believes has allowed him to get off to a good start in his mid-season debut. Part of that routine is “a couple of new drills.”
“It’s nothing crazy, you know? I’m not taking like a million swings right now, and I feel like I’ve just got a good routine down,” he said. “Part of it is kind of just breaking habits that I think I built last year. I was just getting into some bad movements with the lower body, probably just compensating for the ankle, and hips get out of whack, and that kind of stuff.
“I’m hopeful that I’ll just be able to keep this up the rest of the year and just be consistent with it. And that’s kind of what it’s all about, is just having a steady swing that you can trust and a swing that you can always fall back on.”
So far, Edman’s playing time has mostly been in left field (he made his fifth start there on Sunday). With Teoscar Hernandez expected to be activated from the Injured List on Monday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Edman will “take on more games” at second base with some starts at third base when Max Muncy needs a day off.
SHO TIME
The Dodgers will stay on turn in their starting rotation for the three-game series in Sacramento beginning Monday. That means Shohei Ohtani’s next pitching start will be Wednesday.
Roberts said he hasn’t decided yet whether Dalton Rushing will start at catcher that day but he “most likely” will.
Rushing and Ohtani had some obvious friction during Ohtani’s start in Minnesota with pitch selection and communication between the two. Roberts said there have been “conversations” since that game to smooth things over but acknowledged that Ohtani might choose to call his own pitches during his next start.
“I really feel that going forward we’ll all be on the same page,” Roberts said. “It’s not always going to be synced up but I think that where it got to the other day, I really don’t see that happening going forward. They all care. Everyone cares.
“I’ve got to make sure that we’re all on the same page and they have to do their jobs.”
UP NEXT
Dodgers (LHP Eric Lauer, 3-5, 4.87) at A’s (LHP Gage Jump, 3-1, 2.04), Monday, 6:40 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM