After extending his stay with the team when Mookie Betts returned from the 10-day injured list earlier this month, Santiago Espinal was designated for assignment to make room for Kiké Hernández on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 40-man and active rosters.
The Dodgers recently reworked Espinal’s deal and won’t be required to pay his full $2.5 million salary, via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
Espinal was cut before all the guarantees were fulfilled in his $2.5 million contract, a league source said.
The Dodgers will end up owing roughly $900,000 to Espinal, which is the prorated portion of his salary. They now have one week to either trade or release him, unless another team claims the 31-year-old off waivers.
Espinal originally signed a Minor League contract with the Dodgers that included a way for the club to essentially get out of paying the remainder of his salary if he was released within the first 45 days.
However, that deadline was extended to give the Dodgers extra time to decide on his future. L.A. valued what Espinal brought to the table, but he ultimately fell victim to a roster crunch.
“Actually, Brandon Gomes and Santiago had a conversation today,” manager Dave Roberts said on Monday. “He chose not to come in, and then I’ll lob a call to him in the next couple of days to thank him for everything he did for us. He was fantastic.
“So, obviously, we had a tough decision to make with activating Kiké, but Santiago was great for me, great for the team. I think the thing is we were very forthright up front about the expectations. I think he respected that. Complete pro.”
Santiago Espinal’s 2026 stats
Espinal went 9-for-41 (.220) with three doubles, one home run and four RBI while appearing in 26 games for the Dodgers. He was primarily used as a pinch-hitter and defensive replacement, seeing time at three different positions in the infield.
With Miguel Rojas and Hernández both being right-handed hitters who could play all over the field, Espinal became a redundancy on the Dodgers roster. His final time playing for the Dodgers prior to getting DFA’d was this past Saturday, when Espinal went 1-for-4 with one RBI and one walk.
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