Tommy Edman Is Right Back to Proving His Value to the Dodgers

The past few years have been a whirlwind for Los Angeles Dodgers utilityman Tommy Edman.

After a great rookie year in 2019 and a Gold Glove win in 2021, Edman looked to be a rising star for the St. Louis Cardinals. He made good on this vision with strong showings in 2022 and the first half of 2023. Then, a wrist injury sent him barreling into a remarkable sequence of triumph and adversity.

Based on the injury at the time, it was likely that Edman would make his return in time for Opening Day in 2024. However, Edman never laced up again for the Cardinals.

Instead, further injury concerns delayed his 2024 debut well into the season. Then, a three-team trade in June sent Edman to the Dodgers alongside former White Sox reliever Michael Kopech. Edman would make his season debut two months later on August 19, 2024.

Edman’s limited regular season play left much to the imagination. Fortunately for Dodgers fans, he came alive in a big way during October. He would go on to win NLCS MVP honors en route to a World Series victory.

Since then, Edman’s story has continued to cultivate a flare for the dramatic. Ankle and toe injuries hampered his 2025 performance. Though the Dodgers would still go on to win their second ring in as many years, Edman’s health and production concerns were becoming both evident and recurrent.

The start of 2026 brought more of a wait. However, since Edman made his debut in mid-June, he has quickly begun to shatter this narrative. Given the setbacks Edman has faced over the past few years, his journey back to the Dodgers’ lineup is one well worth exploring.

All stats taken prior to play on July 31, 2026.

A Series of Unfortunate Events 

Coming up with the Cardinals, Edman first made a name for himself primarily as a Gold Glove-caliber defender at nearly every position on the baseball diamond. While not known for his bat, he showed flashes of his offensive potential across his five seasons in St. Louis.

Starting midway through the 2023 season, Edman’s story began to veer somewhat off course. After a wrist injury in July deflated his performance for the remainder of the year, Edman sought to correct the issue in the offseason to be ready for the 2024 season.

Unfortunately for Edman, he would not be. While he did undergo arthroscopic surgery on his wrist in October, the inflammation and pain continued to linger. His recovery continued to press into spring training. Though, he was still projected to start the season early-ish into the year. 

This never came to pass. Lingering swelling during spring training landed Edman on the 10-day injured list to start 2024. Then, he was flipped from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list in May. Finally, a random ankle sprain during a June rehab workout delayed his return yet again.

However, this string of injuries did little to dissuade the Dodgers from pursuing Edman at the trade deadline. After a few months, Edman made his long-awaited return to the field, this time wearing Dodger Blue.

Over his 37 regular-season games in 2024, Edman hit .237/.294/.417. While not what the Dodgers had been expecting, they understood that his return from injury may not be smooth sailing. Plus, he did steal six bases and hit six home runs over this span – a positive sign for things to come. 

Once the postseason came around, the wager the Dodgers had placed on his talent finally began to truly pay off.

Big Time in October

Edman’s bat was mostly quiet through the Dodgers’ NLDS matchup with the San Diego Padres. He hit .235/.235/.235 (what are the odds?) through their five-game set, fueling further doubts as to his health. 

Then, the NLCS began. Edman absolutely exploded through this series, hitting a whopping .407/.393/.630 over a six-game series against the New York Mets. He notched 11 RBI in just six games, and posted an 1.022 OPS. For his efforts, Edman was named NLCS MVP.

He continued to show out during their 2024 World Series matchup against the New York Yankees, in which he hit .294/.400/.588 over five games, notching three extra-base hits and two stolen bases along the way. All in all, Edman hit .328/.354/.508 with 20 hits and 13 RBI over just 16 games in the postseason.

Beyond the direct impacts of Edman’s performance in October, it served as a showcase of what Edman can look like at the peak of his production. For the Dodgers, having a premium defender across the infield and outfield with a strong enough bat to fill out the middle of their lineup was more than worth the suspense. 

The Dodgers were clearly enamored by the emergence of their newly acquired star utility-man. So much so that they decided to sign Edman to a $74 million extension directly following their World Series victory. The deal cemented Edman into their lineup through the 2029 season, with a club option for 2030 to boot.

Unfortunately for them, the injury troubles that plagued Edman’s 2023 and 2024 seasons reared their heads again in 2025.

Groundhog Day

Edman actually had a remarkable start to the 2025 season. While injury concerns remained a factor, he showed little signs of wear-and-tear through mid-April.

In fact, Edman began the year on a prolific power surge. Despite never hitting more than 13 home runs in a season, Edman slugged six in just 19 games for the Dodgers in 2025. At the time, this ranked second in all of baseball behind the Athletics’ Tyler Soderstrom. 

His defense continued to impress, but adding on a .274/.308/.575 line and 139 wRC+ made Edman an invaluable addition to the Dodgers starting squad. But, just as Edman began to solidify his re-emergence, injuries struck yet again.

First, he landed on the injured list at the end of April as ankle inflammation continued to bother him. Then, he aggravated the same ankle in June, and yet again at the beginning of August. As a result, he was unable to keep up his torrid pace of play and wound up playing just 97 games.

Over that span, his cumulative line dropped to a paltry .225/.274/.382. His wRC+ dropped by nearly 60 points, from 139 on April 16 to just 81 by season’s end. He had a few solid moments in the 2025 postseason, but was ultimately limited to hitting .222/.254/.365 over 16 games in October. 

After years of his performance being sapped by injury, particularly with his right ankle, something had to give. A frustrated Edman opted to finally address the issue in a more permanent manner, opting to undergo surgery in the offseason. 

Hopefully, having removed bone spurs and repaired the ligament in his ankle, Edman could play his first fully healthy season in Los Angeles. Flash forward to today, and Edman has certainly made the most of his return.

A Warm Welcome Back

Over the course of his now eight-year career, Edman’s best offensive performance came in 2019. His rookie year saw him hit .304/.350/.500, hitting 11 home runs, stealing 15 bases, and posting a 124 wRC+ over 92 games.

So far in 2026, he has been even better. In the 34 games Edman has played since returning from the injured list on June 17, Edman is hitting .321/.398/.468. He has been so good, in fact, that the Dodgers elected to have Edman bat leadoff on Thursday evening with Shohei Ohtani out of the lineup.

One notable aspect of his performance thus far has been his performance with runners in scoring position. Edman already has 18 RBI through his first 34 games, hitting .367/.406/.667 with runners in scoring position. His 190 wRC+ in these situations dwarfs his 123 wRC+ with the bases empty.

While his defense has seemed a bit rusty in comparison to previous years, his offense has more than made up the difference. In 2025, Edman accrued a total of 1.2 fWAR over his 97 games played. This year, however, Edman has already notched 1.1 fWAR in a third of the plate appearances.

Since his return, Edman’s 143 wRC+ is second only to Freddie Freeman’s 155 wRC+. This is in spite of elite performances from both Ohtani, who has hit eight home runs over this span, and Andy Pages, continuing a strong season in his own right.

Finally, after years of setbacks, it seems like Edman is back at full strength – for now. Given his history, the Dodgers will likely want to continue taking it slow. Nonetheless, Edman has capitalized on his limited time back, and now looks to help push the Dodgers back to the World Series this October.