Sports
Once almost traded to the Angels, Andy Pages is the Dodgers' newest rookie star
Joc Pederson might not remember the full trade package.
But the former Dodgers slugger won’t soon forget the first time he saw Andy Pages’ swing.
A couple months ago, while watching a Dodgers spring training game, Pederson took immediate notice of Pages, the club’s top outfield prospect. Coming away so impressed, Pederson texted some old friends in the club’s front office.
“I said, ‘That’s different,’” recalled Pederson, now the designated hitter for the Arizona Diamondbacks. “That was the first time I’d ever seen him. … It just looked right.”
What Pederson didn’t realize then, and was only reminded of recently: Pages was once almost traded by the Dodgers, reportedly part of a nixed 2020 deal that would have sent Pederson, Ross Stripling and a then-teenage Pages to the Angels.
“I had no idea,” Pederson said, somewhat stunned, “that kid was in the trade.”
Four years later, it’s a trade that never happened for the Dodgers that just keeps on giving.
Pages not only stayed with the organization after the trade fell apart — the result, largely, of impatience from Angels owner Arte Moreno — but is now blossoming in his first MLB season
Since being called up on April 16, the 23-year-old is batting .333 with three home runs and 11 RBIs. He has a nine-game hitting streak that has raised his on-base-plus-slugging percentage to .921. He produced his best performance yet on Friday, punctuating a four-hit game against the Atlanta Braves with an 11th-inning walk-off single.
“It was really special because I haven’t been here for that long and I was able to accomplish that,” Pages said through an interpreter postgame.
“He wasn’t going to let anyone else win that game for us tonight,” manager Dave Roberts added. “We trusted [his] head, trusted the talent, and, obviously, he just rose to the occasion.”
That has been the story of Pages’ journey, starting from when the Dodgers signed the six-foot-tall Cuban prospect for $300,000 in 2017.
Always known for his natural athleticism and powerful swing, Pages hit 10 home runs in his first year of pro ball at the club’s complex in the Dominican Republic — “which, in those parks, and at that time,” Dodgers director of player development Will Rhymes recalled, “was pretty unique.” Pages’ production only improved in 2019, when he had 19 home runs and an OPS over 1.000 in rookie ball with the Dodgers affiliate in Ogden, Utah.
By then, Pages’ advanced mental approach —-a trait just as signature as his pre-swing leg-kick and bent-over posture at impact — was impressing Dodgers staff as much as anything.
“In one of the first conversations I had with him back in 2019, I asked him about his leg kick, and we started talking about Justin Turner,” Rhymes said, recalling how Pages compared his timing mechanism to that of the then-Dodgers star. “And he gave me this incredible breakdown of Justin Turner’s swing, how it functioned.”
Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after hitting a three-run home run against the Mets.
(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)
Rhymes’ takeaway?
“Wow, this guy thinks about [the game] at a different level than most 19-year-olds.”
In a loaded Dodgers farm system full of more seasoned prospects, Pages wasn’t always their biggest-name talent. In 2020, Baseball America ranked him as the No. 22 prospect in the organization. MLB Pipeline pegged him at No. 14.
It was then that Pages’ name surfaced in trade talks between the Angels and Dodgers — who, on the verge of acquiring Mookie Betts and David Price from the Boston Red Sox in February 2020, were trying to create some salary relief.
While the key pieces of the deal were Pederson and Stripling, Pages was also reported to be heading to Anaheim, in exchange for infielder Luis Rengifo and multiple Angels prospects.
For a week after the news surfaced Feb. 4, the move was believed to be all but official.
“I was going to [salary] arbitration,” Pederson recalled, “and we didn’t know what team was going to show.”
On Feb. 9, however, it all broke down in a strange series of events.
Initially, the Angels trade was held up while the Dodgers finalized Betts’ acquisition from the Red Sox.
In what started as a three-team transaction also involving Minnesota, Boston was supposed to get reliever Brusdar Graterol, but balked upon a review of his medical records. That forced the Dodgers, Red Sox and Twins to reconfigure the deal, with Graterol ultimately coming to Los Angeles and the Dodgers sending two other prospects — Jeter Downs and Connor Wong — to Boston instead.
While all that was worked out — the Dodgers-Angels trade was contingent on the Betts deal going through — Moreno, the Angels owner, started to grow frustrated.
And just as the Dodgers finally completed their blockbuster move for Betts, Moreno reportedly called off the Pederson/Stripling/Pages agreement, later confirming that, while there were other unspecified factors at play, the five-day delay had gnawed at his patience.
“It was a crappy feeling,” said Pederson, who helped the Dodgers win the World Series that season before leaving as a free agent. “But what are you gonna do?”
As Pages followed the situation, his emotions were similarly conflicted.
“It was really strange to see your name across the news,” Pages acknowledged.
“When the rumors were swirling,” Rhymes added, “he was pretty upset about it.”
The hurt feelings, though, didn’t last long. Pages continued his ascent up the minor-league ladder, hitting 31 homers in high Class A in 2021, and 26 more in Class AA in 2022. The club’s player development staff expressed their excitement about his future.
“It gave us all a chance to renew our vows,” Rhymes said. “He’s always been in the plans to be a big piece of this thing.”
Pages’ rise wasn’t entirely linear.
At times, he got too “uphill” in his swing mechanics, Rhymes said, leaving Pages vulnerable to pitchers who attacked up in the strike zone. Despite his 57 home runs in 2021-2022, he batted just .250 with 272 strikeouts.
Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages makes a catch at the wall during a game against the Nationals.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Last year, Pages suffered a serious shoulder injury, when a torn labrum in his first career triple A game required season-ending surgery in June.
“It was a tough blow, but from the moment it happened, he handled it extremely maturely,” Rhymes said. “He was on a mission before the injury. And if anything, the injury just put on more of one.”
Once fully recovered from the procedure, Pages was a standout performer in Dodgers camp this spring, going eight for 17 with two home runs and nine RBIs.
The day he was optioned, Rhymes said, was equally telling. Pages, who has developed into a plus center fielder defensively, went to minor-league camp and took 10 live at-bats on a day coaches suggested he take off.
“I knew going into the season how difficult it was going to be [to crack the majors] with so many talented players on the roster, so many superstars,” Pages said. “I knew how much work was ahead of me.”
That translated to a blistering start to the regular season in triple A, with Pages batting .371 in 15 games.
And between Jason Heyward’s back injury and James Outman’s early-season struggles, the Dodgers saw the opportunity to give Pages an early call-up.
His performance in the three weeks since have surpassed all expectations. Pages has ranked seventh in the National League in batting average since his arrival, and has almost as many RBIs (11) as strikeouts (13).
“He’s checking a lot of boxes,” Roberts said. “He’s creating his own opportunities.”
President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman hasn’t lately indulged in recollections about the abandoned Angels trade.
“Not much,” he said when asked how often he has thought about it amid Pages’ rise.
Instead, he noted the seamlessness of Pages’ big-league transition.
“We saw him make adjustments at the major league level his first week,” Friedman said. “Teams were beating up top with fastballs. And now he’s either clearing those out or at least fouling them off. He gets another pitch. He just competes in the box.”
Veteran teammates have echoed similar compliments.
“Today he showed that he’s made for the big moments,” Teoscar Hernández said in the wake of Pages’ walk-off hit Friday night. “He’s not afraid to go out there and have success.”
And when there was once a time it looked like Pages never would don a Dodgers jersey, his electric start has him seemingly poised to stay with the club, as a key contributor in the outfield, for the long haul.
“I know how great this team is,” Pages said. “I always wanted to be a part of this.”
A lot has changed since Jacori Perry attended Morningside High School.
Perry is now a renowned artist who goes by the names Mr. Ace and AiseBorn.
The school is now known as Inglewood High School United.
And the lecture hall on that campus now features a large, ornate mural of a soccer ball being grasped by the hands of two people — freshly painted by the 2004 Morningside graduate as the city of Inglewood prepares to host eight World Cup games at SoFi Stadium starting next month.
Local artist Mr. Ace works on his mural at Inglewood High School United on May 11. The artists, whose real name is Jacori Perry, attended the school when it was known as Morningside High more than two decades ago.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
“If you told me that I would be back here painting one of the walls on this campus when I was in high school, I don’t think that I necessarily would have foreseen it,” Mr. Ace said as he was putting the finishing touches on his mural last week. “So I’m a little in amazement about just the way life works in that sense.”
He was one of several Los Angeles-based artists to participate in a Road to World Cup Community Day last month at Inglewood High United. Many of the artists — including Juan Pablo Reyes (“JP murals”), Michelle Ruby Guerrero (“Mr. B Baby”) and Angel Acordagoitia — sketched designs on portable panels (12-feet by 8-feet) and picnic tables for community members to paint.
The picnic tables will remain at the high school in front of Mr. Ace’s mural. The mobile murals will be placed throughout LAX to welcome visitors arriving for the World Cup.
Kathryn Schloessman, CEO of the Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Host Committee, said in a news release that the event was “just one example of how the energy of the World Cup can be felt in neighborhoods across our region.”
“Students, artists, and volunteers came together to create a work of art that will live on well beyond the end of the tournament,” Schloessman said. “It’s a reflection of the creativity, diversity, and community pride that makes our region so special as we prepare to host the world for FIFA World Cup 2026.”
Community members were encouraged to take part in the painting process, no matter their skill level.
“We made it easy enough for people that have zero experience to a proficient level of experience, for them to all be involved,” said Reyes, who designed and helped paint two mural panels and three tables. “We did the sketch, and then I tried to dab a little bit of color — whatever color is supposed to be there, I dabbed a little bit of color right there, so they would have a guide. …
Students and community members help paint a mural panel during a Road to World Cup Community Day event May 2 at Inglewood High School.
(Dawn M. Burkes / Los Angeles Times)
“I was right there, kind of supervising, making sure that everything went as planned. And if anybody has questions, they’re more than welcome to let me know about them. But, yeah, it’s pretty easy for them to kind of be involved and feel that sense of ownership and have a sense of pride that, ‘Yeah, I was part of that mural-creation process.’ It’s a rich experience for them.”
Acordagoitia sketched several table-top designs for the public to paint at the event.
“They did great,” he said of the community members. “They helped a lot. They were asking questions. They got all the other colors correct. So, yeah, they were excited. A lot of kids were excited to see the live painting, because now kids are used to being on their phones. So that was a great experience for them.”
Acordagoitia also opted to paint a mural panel on his own because “it was a little more technical,” involving portraits of his 8-year-old son, a nephew and a friend.
“I wanted to focus more on the youth because that’s really our future,” he said. “So that’s, that’s the main thing about the mural, just about the kids, soccer, culture, community. It’s exciting for me, because I grew up playing soccer and to include soccer with art, it’s just a dream come true.”
Guerrero said “the community was a big help in filling in all the background colors that I need in order to build the detail and layers” on the two mural panels she designed.
“My whole style is based on culture. And I think that there’s a connection there with the World Cup and how I feel like it brings together all the culture and just, like, celebration,” Guerrero said. “It kind of goes hand in hand with the type of work I do, because my stuff is really festive, celebrating culture. And just as an L.A.-based artist, I think the collaboration made sense.”
The four artists also took part in another Road to World Cup Community Day in downtown L.A. at Gloria Molina Grand Park on March 14. At that event, the artists sketched designs on large sculptures shaped like soccer balls and an oversized picnic table, also for community members to paint.
While Mr. Ace opted to paint his permanent mural at Inglewood High School United on his own, he was sure to include the community theme into his work.
“The idea was really centered around just creating something that was community-based — something that represented the World Cup but also represented some sense of community,” he said. “And so what I did was try to create something that was symbolic, very direct in terms of its relationship to soccer and figuring out through that how to create something simple that [brings] into that a sense of community. And that’s how I landed on the two hands holding the soccer ball.”
Local artist Mr. Ace works on his World Cup-themed mural at Inglewood High School United on May 11.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Back when he was a student on that campus, Mr. Ace said he was always involved in art and knew he wanted a career as an artist. He struggled to come up with the right words to describe how it felt being back there creating a work of art to be shared with the students, all of the community and everyone who happens to see it on the way to a World Cup match.
“I guess there’s no words to really describe it,” he said. “I think if any artist gets the opportunity to paint at their own high school — especially if they’ve been doing large-scale works around the city, the country or the world — I think that is a little touching. When it’s attached to something like the World Cup … you know, a large part of my childhood was spent in Inglewood, so coming from my circumstances and life, I think it’s even more intriguing.”
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The best Indianapolis 500 finish could be subjective, depending on which driver a fan was rooting for to win.
It certainly is in the eye of the beholder.
So take this list for what it’s worth. One view of the 10 best finishes in Indianapolis 500 history. Of course, it skews to more recent decades when the runs have come a little faster and the finishes have had a tendency to be a little closer.
We’ll add one each day to this list of fantastic finishes ahead of the 110th running of the Indy 500 on May 24 (12:30 p.m. ET on FOX).
10. Ericsson outduels O’Ward (2022)
After a red flag, Marcus Ericsson held off Pato O’Ward in a two-lap shootout. The shootout didn’t last two laps, though, as there was a crash on the final lap behind them. Ericsson had a comfortable lead when the red flag came out for a crash with four laps to go, a situation where in past Indianapolis 500 races, they likely would have ended the race under caution with Ericsson as the winner.
9. Foyt survives chaos (1967)
How does a driver who wins by two laps end up on this list? It’s because the win nearly didn’t happen on the last lap. A big crash with cars and debris littering the frontstretch just ahead of Foyt as he came to the checkered flag forced him to navigate through the wreckage for the win.
8. Sato can’t catch Franchitti (2012)
This was one of those finishes where the leader holds on for the win, but boy did the leader have to hold on. Takuma Sato tried to pass Dario Franchitti early on the final lap but to no avail and Franchitti sped off for the victory. This was one of those Indy 500s that made you hold your breath all the way to the checkered flag.
No. 8 UCLA stuck with right-hander Taylor Tinsley throughout the Los Angeles Regional and that faith in the senior paid off.
During the Bruins’ NCAA tournament opener at Easton Stadium, Tinsley gave up 10 runs before her teammates rallied for a walk-off win. She returned less than 24 hours to pitch against South Carolina, giving up two earned runs in a victory. Tinsley was back in the circle Sunday afternoon, yielding one run in UCLA’s 15-1 victory over the Gamecocks to advance to the super regionals.
“I am proud of Taylor’s resiliency, the ability to do whatever she can to help this team,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “She got stronger through the weekend. I am proud of that.”
Tinsley and her teammates will host Central Florida in a super regional that begins Friday.
“I feel good,” Tinsley said after pitching three key games in three days. “I could have gone more innings if needed.”
South Carolina right-hander Jori Heard gave up only one hit through two innings, keeping UCLA’s potent bats relatively quiet. The Gamecocks had runners on first and second with two outs in the second, but Tinsley escaped the inning with a pop-up to left field.
The Bruins got on the board first with a two-run home run from left fielder Rylee Slimp in the third inning. The Bruins followed it up by loading the bases with no outs in the fifth for right fielder Megan Grant.
Grant cooked up a grand slam to make it 6-0. She has 40 home runs, extending her hold on the NCAA single-season home run record. Oklahoma freshman Kendall Wells trails Grant with 37 homers.
“Its just incredible because I am blessed to be able to say the number 40,” Grant said.
South Carolina broke through on an RBI single from left fielder Quincee Lilio to cut UCLA’s lead to 6-1 in the fifth inning after being held to just one hit since the first inning. The Gamecocks couldn’t cash in the rest of the way.
The Bruins resumed scoring in the sixth inning, with the bases loaded and Grant at bat again. Fans at Easton Stadium anticipated another grand slam, holding up their cellphones hoping to catch some magic. Grant served up a two-run RBI single to expand the lead 8-1.
Jordan Woolery added to the scoring with a two-run RBI double down the left-field line, and Kaniya Bragg hit a home run to left-center field. Soo-jin Berry put a bow on the win with one more home run.
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