March 20th: Espinal will make a salary of $2.5MM, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
March 18th: The Dodgers announced that they have selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Santiago Espinal. They opened a 40-man roster spot earlier this month when outfielder Jack Suwinski was outrighted, so no corresponding move is necessary today.
Opening Day is still over a week away. With the Dodgers selecting Espinal’s contract now, it’s possible he had some sort of opt-out in his minor league deal. At any rate, there wasn’t much mystery regarding his status. A couple of weeks ago, manager Dave Roberts said that Espinal was trending towards making the team.
Espinal should provide the club with defensive versatility, while ideally helping against lefty pitching. In his career, Espinal has played all four infield spots as well as the outfield corners. Offensively, his right-handed bat is best deployed as part of a platoon. He has a career .291/.344/.409 line and 107 wRC+ against southpaws, compared to a .245/.300/.316 line and 73 wRC+ against righties.
He’s a few years removed from his best years at the plate, which were with the Blue Jays in 2021 and 2022. He slashed .282/.340/.382 for a 105 wRC+ over those two seasons. Since then, he has a .245/.298/.325 line over three seasons, a period which saw him get flipped to the Reds. That includes a rough .243/.292/.282 line and 58 wRC+ in 2025. The Reds outrighted him off the roster at season’s end and he elected free agency.
Tommy Edman and Enrique Hernández are going to open the season on the injured list. That leaves the second base spot fairly open, with guys like Hyeseong Kim and Miguel Rojas in the mix there. Kim is a lefty hitter but he was better against southpaws in 2025, so perhaps a platoon with Espinal isn’t perfect. In any case, Espinal can add some depth on the bench.
The Dodgers have a relatively old roster, as guys in their mid-30s like Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández should have regular roles. If anyone in that group is banged up or just needs a day off, Espinal can move around as needed.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
With Rojas and Kim also on the roster, one of the three probably goes when Edman returns.
Kim has options and doesn’t play third, so he’ll have to really impress.
Most likely. He’s just a placeholder, but he did have a heck of a spring, and little doubt he would have hooked on with another team if the Dodgers hadn’t selected him.
Agreed
I’m meaning Kim is going to really have to impress. I think they want Espinal to give Muncy a little more rest than he’s gotten in prior seasons.
Espinal earned the shot even if it is short term.
Agreed
Does alex freeland have any future as a dodger ?
Excellent question. At one time he was considered a future 3B or shortstop. Now he might just be trade bait. By the time Muncy leaves, Morales might be close. Say Muncy leaves the Dodgers at end of 2027, Morales could be ready Opening Day 2029.
freeland can play 2B too. isnt he an upgrade over hyseong kim/miguel rojas/espinal?
Maybe
But with Quintero, Hope and de Paula on the way, and Morales, Betts at short and 3B, and maybe Will Smith replacing Freeman at 1B, Freeland is the weakest link. And not even sure he is better than Edman and Kim. This year is last rodeo for Rojas as a player.
alot of big market tms sign big name FAs even tho they have young talent ready to go. yanks sign bellinger, that squeezes jasson and spencer jones. mets sign bichette, that pushes baty out. cubs sign bregman. that pushes shaw out. cubs also had caissie, but no room for him in the lineup so they moved him to miami. dodgers are absolutely stacked everywhere with big FAs/acquisitions. betts, freeman, ohtani, tucker… how are talented minor leaguers supposed to break through?
Perhaps another example of a low level Dodger prospect getting highly (overly?) rated early then losing luster and often traded.
Freeland is still regarded as a useful prospect though and spots will open in LA’s IF going forward so we’ll see.
Freeland was given every chance during ST to prove his bat will play in the bigs. He didn’t. That’s not to say he won’t make it somewhere, even in LA. But to this point there is no evidence he can hit MLB pitching.
Absolutely not Rojas. Miggy’s intangibles don’t show up on a stat sheet, and there’s no metric that shows a players value in the clubhouse. But if there were, he’d most likely be the team leader in that category, and by a large margin. And on a team with guys like Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, that’s a big statement.
I love Morales as a player, and i think he could be a premier shortstop in the making. I’d definitely rather use Kim and Freeland as trade bait for a couple good prospects in the positions they’re weaker in (like 1st and 3B) and maybe a bullpen arm to address the biggest needs.
That sounds like a Mexican wrestling luchador name. ( I honestly don’t know where is from but the name reminded me of Nacho Libre for some reason) I could see someone with that name or similar walk down a wrestling ramp with a mask on.
Anyway good for him making a team what was pretty well set. For most starters at least. I don’t like the Dodgers but I hope this dude plays well( didn’t realize he was 31.) almost called him a kid.
Maybe you are thinking of the famous Mexican labrador Santiago ‘Cocker’ Espaniel?
Being serious, I am rooting for him. The Dodgers have a good track record of finding vets that have been cast off and giving them a 2nd chance.
Santiago Espinal? Really? Isn’t there an infielder in the Dodgers much-hyped farm system who can step into this role?
@ freerange
Yes. His name is Kiké Hernandez and he will be back soon enough.
Not soon enough for Kiké Hernandez.
Esponal is a good batter, bet he puts up good at bats equivalent to Ohtani and strikes out tons less despite less power.
Espinal over the last three MLB seasons was one of the five worst offensive players (non-catchers) in all of baseball.
Love that guy. Not sure why the Reds let him go. He can do it all off the bench.
Espinal had an OPS+ of around 57 for the Reds…
That is why they cut him…
Glad Espy made the team, I wish him all the best really liked him as a Blue Jay.
#FreeRyanWard
I’m saying this not just because the Dodgers trade with the Rays a lot, but Ward feels like a player than fits Tampa’s archetype, and he just randomly hits 25 homers and then they deal him again
The Dodgers need to trade Ward to a team that needs a LF. How about the Braves
Ward is a non-prospect, much closer to 30 than 20, who is trading anything for him?
Ward might be a little long in the tooth for a minor leaguer, but he’s still controllable for any team willing to add him to their roster. They aren’t going to get any kind of haul for him, but he’s good for a low-level prospect or two. Better than nothing. Maybe the plan is DFA and try to trade him off waivers.
Or they can just keep him around as depth in case one of the regulars gets hurt.
This will clearly be a rags to riches, back to rags story…
Absolutely putrid player the last three seasons…
Has a hot streak over 30 or 40 ABs vs. subpar pitching in the spring…
Likely going to be putrid or sub-putrid moving forward.
Over/Under Memorial Day for Espinal being DFA’d?
It’s found money, and even the Dodgers can use a low-risk/reward option at the end of the bench.
The dodgers are gonna need these type of versatile super utility types as the team is aging at key positions, good move.