Rangers Place Chris Martin On IL With Shoulder Impingement
The Rangers announced a series of roster moves prior to tonight’s game. They selected the contract of left-hander Robby Ahlstrom, recalled infielder/outfielder Cody Freeman and recalled right-hander Luis Curvelo. In corresponding active roster moves, they optioned right-hander Gavin Collyer, placed infielder/outfielder Sam Haggerty on the bereavement/family medical emergency list and placed righty Chris Martin on the 15-day IL due to a shoulder impingement. Martin’s move is retroactive to May 31st. To open a 40-man spot for Ahlstrom, left-hander Robert Garcia has been transferred to the 60-day IL. MLBTR covered the Ahlstrom move earlier today.
Martin will celebrate his 40th birthday while on the injured list, as he hits that milestone tomorrow. Despite his age, he has remained an effective reliever, or at least he had until recently. Last year, he made 49 appearances for the Rangers with a 2.98 earned run average. Though he had previously said 2025 would very likely be his last season, he signed up for another campaign, with Texas giving him a $4MM guarantee.
The results have been far worse this time, with the shoulder probably playing a notable role. This is already his second IL stint for a shoulder impingement this year, the first one spanning a little over a month from mid-April to mid-May. Around the IL stints, he has made 12 appearances but has been lit up for a 7.84 ERA. He hasn’t been helped by a .417 batting average on balls in play but his 14.3% strikeout rate and 30.8% ground ball rate are both well south of last year, when he punched out 24.7% of opponents and induced grounders on 42.6% of balls in play.
The Rangers haven’t yet provided any info about how long they expect Martin to be out of action. Ideally, this second IL stint will result in more proper healing, which could lead to better results once he is back on the mound.
As for Garcia, he was placed on the 15-day IL over a month ago, on April 20th. His 60-day count is retroactive to that date, so he will be eligible for reinstatement in a few weeks. A couple of days ago, manager Skip Schumaker said that Garcia is still weeks away, per Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News. Whenever Garcia is healthy, he can start a rehab assignment, even if he’s still within that 60-day window. Rehab assignments for pitchers can last as long as 30 days.
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Giants Select Buddy Kennedy
The Giants announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Buddy Kennedy. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle noted that Kennedy was in the clubhouse prior to the announcement. They also announced their selection of right-hander Wilkin Ramos, a move that was previously reported. In corresponding active roster moves, catcher Jesús Rodríguez has been optioned to Triple-A Sacramento and right-hander Joel Peguero has been placed on the 60-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. The Peguero move also opened one 40-man spot. The other was opened by catcher Logan Porter being designated for assignment.
Kennedy, 27, signed a minor league deal with the Giants in the offseason. Since then, he has been putting up huge numbers for Triple-A Sacramento. He has matching walk and strikeout rates of 12.4%, which are both great numbers. He also has eight home runs. Even in the hitter-friendly context of the Pacific Coast League, his .321/.424/.543 line translates to a 153 wRC+, indicating he has been 53% better than the league average hitter. He has gotten some help from a .342 batting average on balls in play but would be having a good season even with some more neutral luck.
The Giants will be the latest team to try to benefit from a big league breakout from Kennedy. He has often put up good numbers on the farm, which has led to many major league chances he hasn’t been able to take advantage of. He received 181 plate appearances over the previous four campaigns, spending time with the Diamondbacks, Tigers, Phillies, Blue Jays and Dodgers. He put up a dismal .178/.271/.274 line with those clubs.
Despite that rough performance, it’s understandable why he keeps getting chances. For one thing, his MLB track record thus far consists of a very small sample size. In the minors, dating back to the start of 2024, he has a .285/.386/.458 line and 126 wRC+. He also provides defensive versatility, with professional experience at all four infield spots and left field. He shouldn’t be considered a real shortstop option since he has just ten minor league innings there and none since 2024, but the ability to bounce around to the other spots is valuable.
If he could combine that defensive versatility with some capable big league offense, he would be an attractive piece, but he hasn’t yet been able to cement himself as such. He has exhausted his options, pushing him to fringe roster territory. He had to settle for a minor league deal but has earned another big league shot with the Giants.
The Giants have been using a three-catcher system for a while now, with Rodríguez promoted in early May. At that time, he was sharing the roster with Patrick Bailey and Eric Haase. The Giants then traded Bailey to the Guardians and selected Porter to the roster. Porter was optioned not long after, just before the Giants reinstated Daniel Susac from the injured list. Rodríguez hasn’t been playing much in that setup lately, with just one plate appearance since May 26th. Instead of riding the pine in the big leagues, he’ll get regular reps in the minors while Kennedy gives the major league club a bit more infield depth.
Porter, 30, now heads into DFA limbo. That can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Giants could take as long as five days to explore trade interest, but they could also put him on waivers sooner than that.
He has generally been considered a good defender in the minors. His offense has shown flashes but has been inconsistent. From 2022 to 2024, he had a .267/.387/.433 line and 113 wRC+ on the farm, but he has a .218/.336/.325 line and 81 wRC+ since then. He has received some very brief looks in the majors and produced a .184/.326/.289 line 47 plate appearances.
He is still optionable and could perhaps appeal to a club in need of extra catching depth but he has cleared outright waivers twice before. Since he has been outrighted previously, he has the right to reject further outright assignments in favor of free agency.
As for Peguero, it’s a rough blow. He began the season on the IL due to that left hamstring and missed over a month, getting reinstated in early May. He made 11 appearances since then but is now right back on the IL. His exact timeline isn’t clear but the injury is apparently severe enough that the Giants have placed him directly onto the 60-day IL. He won’t be eligible for reinstatement until the end of July.
He has a 2.41 earned run average in the first 33 2/3 innings of his career, though that number is surely somewhat misleading. His 9% walk rate is around average and his 53.6% ground ball rate is quite good but his 16.4% strikeout rate is subpar. His .240 batting average on balls in play and 74.6% strand rate are both to the fortunate side, which has helped keep some runs off the board. His 3.83 FIP and 4.38 SIERA are perhaps better indicators of his true performance to date.
Those numbers will be locked in for at least another couple of months. In the meantime, Ramos will make his major league debut. If he can succeed, it will soften the blow of Peguero’s departure, at least to some degree.
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Diamondbacks To Reinstate Pavin Smith From 60-Day IL
4:20pm: Arizona has now officially announced Smith’s reinstatement and Tawa optioning. Santana was indeed moved to the 60-day IL as the corresponding 40-man move.
3:3opm: The Diamondbacks are going to reinstate first baseman Pavin Smith from the 60-day injured list, reports John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix. Infielder/outfielder Tim Tawa will be optioned as the corresponding active roster move. The Snakes will also need to open a 40-man spot.
Smith played in just two games before left elbow inflammation put him on the 10-day injured list at the end of March. He was transferred to the 60-day IL in mid-April and the team announced that he would require surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow. He had recovered enough to start a rehab assignment a week ago. He hit .333/.364/.381 in five rehab games and is now going to rejoin the big league squad.
The former seventh overall pick seemingly broke out in the past couple of seasons. Over 2024 and 2025, he put up a big .262/.357/.475 slash line, which translated to a 130 wRC+. However, there were some asterisks in there. For one, the sample size was just 446 plate appearances. In 2024, Smith was still a fringe roster player and was optioned to the minors multiple times, only getting 158 big league plate appearances. Last year, IL stints for a strained oblique and then a strained quad capped him at 288 plate appearances.
He has also done most of his damage with the platoon advantage. A left-handed hitter, he had a .271/.359/.493 line against righties over those two campaigns but just a .184/.340/.316 line versus southpaws. Furthermore, he finished 2025 poorly. He had a .342/.473/.630 line through April but then a .222/.311/.351 line the rest of the way, working around those aforementioned injuries.
Despite the question marks, it seems the Diamondbacks planned on him being at least a strong-side platoon guy here in 2026. They signed the switch-hitting Carlos Santana to join Smith in the first base group. Santana is a switch-hitter and good defender, so he could shield Smith from lefties and also occasionally serve as a defensive replacement, since Smith isn’t considered an especially strong defender.
They haven’t had much of a chance to implement that plan. As mentioned, Smith appeared in just two games before hitting the IL. An adductor strain sent Santana to the IL after just eight appearances.
In the interim, the Snakes have mostly been using utility guys José Fernández and Ildemaro Vargas to cover first base. Vargas, a 34-year-old journeyman, has a strong .295/.321/.465 line on the year. However, that is mostly due to an improbable 24-game hit streak to begin the season, which was technically a 27-game streak when factoring in last season. Since that streak, he has a .198/.225/.255 line in 111 plate appearances. It’s a similar story for Fernández, who had a .325/.349/.470 line at the end of April but hit .181/.224/.236 in May.
Smith could now take up the first base job, at least against righties, and bump those two back into utility roles. Smith could also slot in as the designated hitter. Adrian Del Castillo has been getting most of the playing time there this year but has a line of just .192/.252/.325. Whether he’s at first base or DH, Smith will presumably need a platoon partner. Fernández and Vargas could perhaps help there since Fernández is a righty and Vargas a switch-hitter.
As for the 40-man move, it’s possible Santana gets transferred to the 60-day IL. His 60-day count would be retroactive to his initial IL placement, which was April 6th, so it’s already been almost 60 days. He began a rehab assignment at the beginning of May but last played on May 10th. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic relayed at that time that Santana had re-injured his adductor. He hasn’t yet started a new rehab assignment and presumably isn’t likely to be reinstated in the near term.
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Giants To Select Wilkin Ramos
The Giants are calling up right-hander Wilkin Ramos, reports Ari Alexander of 7News Boston. San Francisco will need to open space on both the active and 40-man rosters for Ramos, who will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.
Ramos, 25, was an international signing of the Athletics back in 2017. The following year, he was the player to be named later in the deal which sent righty Tanner Anderson to the A’s. By the end of 2022, Ramos was just about to turn 22 and hadn’t yet climbed higher than Single-A. The Mets then grabbed him in the minor league phase of the 2022 Rule 5 draft. He climbed to Triple-A in 2024 but posted a 5.40 earned run average at that level. He didn’t have a roster spot at the end of that season and became a minor league free agent. The Bucs brought him back by signing him to a minor league deal for 2025 but he had a 6.60 ERA in his Triple-A appearances last year.
He became a minor league free agent yet again and signed a minor league deal with the Giants for the 2026 season. He has been with Triple-A Sacramento and putting up good numbers in a multi-inning role. He has logged 27 frames over 17 appearances with a flat ERA of 2.00. His 23.5% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate are both a bit better than average while his 61.4% ground ball rate is massive. He is averaging over 94 miles per hour with both his four-seamer and sinker while also throwing a high-70s curveball.
The Giants have been impressed by that performance and will give him a shot to face major league hitters. The San Francisco bullpen has been decent this year, despite a curious offseason. The club traded away Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers at last year’s deadline, then lost Randy Rodríguez to Tommy John surgery. To address those notable subtractions, their offseason additions were mostly injury reclamation types. Despite the strange tactic, the relief corps has a collective 3.69 ERA on the year, putting them 12th out of the 30 big league clubs.
They will inset Ramos into the mix to see if he can strengthen the group. Since this is his first MLB call, he has a full slate of options and can be easily sent back to Sacramento in the future if he struggles or if they simply need fresh arms at some point.
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Athletics To Select Kade Morris
The Athletics are calling up pitching prospect Kade Morris, reports Martín Gallegos of MLB.com. The club will need to open active and 40-man roster spots for the right-hander, who will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.
Morris, 24 this month, was a third-round pick of the Mets in 2023. He was flipped to the A’s at the 2024 trade deadline in the deal which sent Paul Blackburn to Queens. At the time of the deal, Morris was still at the High-A level but he has since bumped up to the upper tiers of the minor leagues. He got a very brief look at Triple-A at the end of that 2024 season but started 2025 at Double-A. He got promoted to Triple-A more permanently a year ago, making his first 2025 Triple-A start on June 1st.
In that past year, he has made 30 starts for Triple-A Las Vegas. He has logged 159 innings, allowing 4.92 earned runs per nine in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. His 18.5% strikeout rate is a few ticks below major league average but his 9% walk rate is around par while he has induced grounders on about half the balls in play he has allowed. His four-seamer and sinker both average around 94 miles per hour. His slider is his most-used secondary pitch.
Most prospect evaluators put Morris just outside the top ten prospects in the club’s system. That includes Baseball America, who had Morris at #13 coming into the season but now list him at #11. The BA report notes that he has good control of his arsenal but his main vulnerability is not having a good weapon for lefties since his changeup isn’t strong. Lefties have a .277/.409/.511 line against him this year and the line was .332/.395/.533 last year.
FanGraphs is a bit more bullish. In April, they gave Morris the #3 spot in the system, behind only Leo De Vries and Gage Jump. The report notes that a slight improvement to his changeup would make him a playoff-caliber starter, though he’s currently more of a back-end guy.
The A’s have taken a few rotation hits lately. Shoulder tendonitis sent Aaron Civale to the injured list a week ago. A shoulder strain put Luis Severino on the IL over the weekend. Those two injuries have led to the A’s reaching into their depth, with Gunnar Hoglund not an option since he required season-ending hip surgery. Jump got the call last week to replace Civale, joining the rotation alongside Jeffrey Springs, J.T. Ginn and Jacob Lopez.
Perhaps Morris is getting the call to take Severino’s rotation spot, or maybe to serve as a long reliever. The A’s also have Mason Barnett, Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang, Luis Morales and Joey Estes on the 40-man roster, so they have some other options who could be mixed in while Civale and Severino are on the shelf. Since this is the first time Morris has been given a roster spot, he has a full slate of options and could be easily sent back to Vegas if he’s not sticking around for an extended audition.
Photo courtesy of Matt Kartozian, Imagn Images
Padres To Select Jase Bowen
The Padres are calling up outfielder Jase Bowen, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. The Friars will need to open space on the active and 40-man rosters for Bowen, who will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.
Bowen, now 25, was originally an 11th-round pick of the Pirates back in 2019. As a hitter, he has shown some pop but there have been some concerns regarding his approach. Through the end of 2024, he had over 2,000 plate appearances on the farm. He hit 64 home runs but his 7.5% walk rate and 25.6% strikeout rate were both subpar figures. He had a combined .243/.315/.406 line and 99 wRC+ in that time.
His 2025 numbers were a little bit intriguing. He missed time due to injury and only made 366 plate appearances but produced a strong .272/.353/.449 line, leading to a 124 wRC+. He improved his walk rate to 10.7% but was punched out at a 28.7% clip. His output was aided by a .376 batting average on balls in play. He didn’t have a roster spot at season’s end and became a minor league free agent, which is when the Padres signed him to a minor league deal.
This year, he has been with Triple-A El Paso and putting up good numbers, but with similar caveats to last year. He has 13 home runs, a 9.5% walk rate, a .292/.362/.600 line and 121 wRC+. However, his 26.6% strikeout rate is still a bit high and he again benefitted from a high BABIP, this time a .349 mark.
Even if his offense over the past two years isn’t totally sustainable, he can contribute in other ways. Back in April, FanGraphs ranked Bowen the #17 prospect in a weak Padres’ system. They raised concerns about his approach at the plate but noted he is a strong runner, which helps him on the basepaths and in the outfield. He stole at least 16 bases in each season from 2021 to 2025. Defensively, he’s spent time in all three outfield slots. If he can maintain any of his recent offensive numbers, that would be great. But even if not, he profiles as a decent fourth outfielder who can run down the ball and swipe a bag from time to time.
The Padres have recently had Fernando Tatis Jr. covering second base, leaving them with an outfield of Gavin Sheets, Jackson Merrill and Ramón Laureano. On the bench, they’ve got Nick Castellanos and Bryce Johnson, but both of them have been struggling. Castellanos has a .191/.221/.339 line while Johnson is at .188/.257/.250. Neither of them are optionable, so perhaps one of those two will be designated for assignment to open roster space for Bowen.
It’s also possible someone in that group is headed to the injured list with an unreported injury. If that’s the case, then the Friars could open a 40-man spot by moving someone to the 60-day injured list. Nick Pivetta would be a good candidate since he’s already been on the 15-day IL for almost two months, initially landing there April 13th. He hasn’t yet begun a rehab assignment and therefore isn’t in line for a near-term activation.
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Rangers Sign Jarred Kelenic To Minor League Deal
The Rangers announced that they have signed outfielder Jarred Kelenic to a minor league deal. The client of THE·TEAM will report to Triple-A Round Rock. Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News was among those who passed the news along.
Kelenic, 26, just elected free agency a couple of days ago after being outrighted by the White Sox. He began the year on a minor league deal with that club and posted some encouraging Triple-A numbers. That got him a shot in the majors that he wasn’t able to take advantage of. He struck out in 33.9% of his plate appearances with the Sox and slashed .226/.305/.321 for a wRC+ of 79.
That came in a very small sample of 59 plate appearances but continued a career-long trend for Kelenic. A former sixth overall pick and ballyhooed prospect, he has often put up big numbers on the farm. That has led to many big league chances that he hasn’t capitalized on. He has 1,547 major league plate appearances to this point in his career with a 30.7% strikeout rate. His .211/.283/.374 line translates to an 84 wRC+, indicating he’s been 16% worse than league average on the whole.
That performance has led to him exhausting his option years, which has pushed him into fringe roster territory. He was outrighted by Atlanta at the end of last season and had to settle for a minor league deal with the White Sox. The other 29 clubs just passed on the chance to grab him from the waiver wire and he has been left to sign a minor league deal yet again.
For the Rangers, there’s little harm in adding some extra outfield depth without using a roster spot. They currently have Evan Carter, Brandon Nimmo and Alejandro Osuna taking up most of the outfield playing time, with Michael Helman and Sam Haggerty also in the mix. Carter has missed the past two games after getting hit on the foot by a pitch. Nimmo has battled hamstring and ankle injuries this year.
If they need to reach into their depth, Kelenic could get the call, though guys like Jonah Bride and Nick Pratto are also in the system as non-roster depth. Down the line, they may get pushed down the depth chart, as Wyatt Langford began a rehab assignment this weekend. He has been on the injured list for a little over a month due to a flexor strain. That was initially expected to require a minimal IL stint but has lingered longer than hoped. It’s unclear how long the Rangers want to have him rehabbing but such assignments for position players have a 20-day maximum.
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Orioles Outright Dietrich Enns
TODAY: Per Roch Kubatko, Enns has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.
May 26th: The Orioles announced that they have recalled left-hander Nick Raquet from Triple-A Norfolk, a move that was reported by Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com earlier. In a corresponding move, the O’s designated fellow lefty Dietrich Enns for assignment.
Enns, now 35, had an intriguing comeback season in 2025. He had made his major league debut a few years prior but wound up pitching overseas from 2022 to 2024. He was back in North America last year and logged 46 1/3 innings between the Tigers and Orioles. He allowed 4.08 earned runs per nine. His 24.5% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate were both a bit better than average. He may have even had better results without a .338 batting average on balls in play, which is why his 3.54 SIERA was a bit lower than his ERA.
The O’s signed Enns for the 2026 season, a one-year deal with a $2.625MM guarantee and a club option for 2027. Here in 2026, a left foot infection put him on the IL for about a month, from early April to early May. Around that IL stint, he has given Baltimore 16 innings with a 3.94 ERA but with worse numbers under the hood. His 18.6% strikeout rate and 15.7% walk rate are both subpar figures. His BABIP and strand rate are now to the lucky side, so his 5.24 SIERA suggests he’s been worse than last year, even though he ERA is slightly better.
The Rays and Orioles went to 13 innings last night. Baltimore ultimately came out on top but it was a bit of a pyrrhic victory, as they had to use six relievers in the process. One of them was Enns, who was pitching for a second straight day. It’s likely that Baltimore’s decision to cut Enns came from a combination of the pitching staff being taxed, him being unavailable, and his uninspiring results this year. He is out of options and needed to be bumped off the 40-man entirely to open an active roster spot.
Enns now heads into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Orioles could take five days to explore trade interest. Given this year’s results and salary, they may not find much interest. If Enns were to clear waivers, he would likely stick around as non-roster depth. He has a previous career outright and would technically have the right to elect free agency in that scenario. But since he has less than five years of big league service time, he would have to walk away from the money he is still owed on his current deal.
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Jarred Kelenic Elects Free Agency
TODAY: Kelenic cleared waivers and elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment, according to Brooke Fletcher of the Chicago Sports Network.
MAY 25: The White Sox announced that outfielder Jarred Kelenic has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding move for them to select infielder/outfielder Rikuu Nishida, a move that was reported yesterday.
Kelenic, 26, signed a minor league deal with the Sox in the offseason. He began the season at Triple-A and put up some encouraging numbers. In 26 games, he slashed .202/.346/.464. That batting average is obviously not pleasant but was held back by an unfortunate .224 batting average on balls in play. The on-base percentage was buoyed by a huge 18.3% walk rate. His six home runs in 104 plate appearances boosted the slugging percentage. The batting line translated to a subpar 97 wRC+ but would have been above average with a bit more batted ball luck.
The White Sox decided to give him another shot in the big leagues, which didn’t work out. He got into 19 games and stepped to the plate 59 times. His 10.2% walk rate was strong but he also struck out at a huge 33.9% clip. Though his .344 BABIP was actually a help in this sample, he nonetheless put up a .226/.305/.321 line and 81 wRC+.
These are fairly small data sets but they do roughly mirror Kelenic’s larger career arc. A former sixth overall pick and top prospect, he has often put up huge numbers in the minors without finding success in the majors. Including this year’s stint with the Sox, he now has 1,547 big league plate appearances. He has been punched out in 30.7% of those and has a .211/.283/.374 line, which leads to an 84 wRC+. He has stolen some bases but hasn’t received strong grades for his glovework.
The overall performance has pushed him into fringe roster status. As mentioned, he had to settle for a minor league deal coming into this season. He has exhausted his option years, so the Sox had to bump him off the 40-man since they no longer want him on the active roster.
Kelenic is now in DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Sox could take five days to explore trade interest. The most likely outcome is Kelenic ending up on waivers and clearing. He just cleared waivers in October of last year and he hasn’t done much to raise his stock since then. Players with a previous career outright or three years of service time have the right to reject outright assignments in favor of electing free agency. Kelenic qualifies on both counts and can head to the open market if he clears waivers in the next week.
Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images
Dodgers Re-Sign Santiago Espinal
8:08pm: Los Angeles officially announced the moves, as well as yesterday’s placement of Teoscar Hernández on the injured list while recalling Ryan Ward from Triple-A. They opened the 40-man spot by transferring Blake Snell from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list. Snell was already expected to be out beyond the All-Star Break after undergoing the NanoScope elbow procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow.
5:35pm: The Dodgers are re-signing infielder/outfielder Santiago Espinal, per Jack Harris of The California Post. Infielder/outfielder Hyeseong Kim will be optioned in a corresponding active roster move. The Dodgers have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to add Espinal.
Espinal was just nudged off the roster on Monday when Enrique Hernández came off the injured list. A lot has changed since then. Hernández suffered a significant oblique tear and has gone right back on the IL. Teoscar Hernández also hit the IL this week, in his case due to a hamstring strain. Espinal cleared waivers and elected free agency but has now pivoted right back to the Dodgers.
In addition to losing both Hernándezes to the IL, the Dodgers have been watching Kim struggle. His .259/.323/.328 line for the whole year isn’t awful, leading to an 87 wRC+, but his production has been sagging lately. He had a .296/.371/.389 line when the calendar flipped to May but he has a .226/.279/.274 line since then.
Espinal may not provide much more than that, considering he has a .220/.238/.366 line on the year. But perhaps the Dodgers feel the best thing for Kim is to get regular playing time in the minors, as opposed to sitting on the bench. Alex Freeland was recalled when Enrique went back on the IL and should get the bulk of the second base playing time in the near future.
Kim is 27 years old, signed through 2027, with club options for 2028 and 2029. Espinal is 31 and not signed long-term. It therefore makes sense for the Dodgers to think about the long-term plan with Kim, whereas Espinal is more of a short-term stopgap and therefore a better fit for a part-time bench role.
Though Espinal may not provide much with the bat, he can be useful in other ways. He has experience at all four infield spots, as well as the outfield corners, so he can give the Dodgers the flexibility to move guys around as needed.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images