The Los Angeles Dodgers re-signed Santiago Espinal and optioned Hyeseong Kim to Triple-A Oklahoma City prior to their series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies.
To make room on the 40-man roster, Blake Snell was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Espinal is back with the team a mere four days after getting designated for assignment. MLB’s transaction log indicated Espinal cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A, but he instead became a free agent and now is on a new Dodgers contract.
The timing of Espinal’s DFA proved to be unfortunate as Kiké Hernández only made four at-bats before going back on the injured list due to a left oblique strain.
During his first stint with the team, Espinal was 9-for-41 (.220) with three doubles, one home run and four RBI over 26 games. He originally joined the organization during the offseason on a Minor League contract and earned a spot on the Opening Day roster behind an impressive showing in Spring Training.
Dodgers send Hyeseong Kim down
Prior to Hernández publicly revealing he suffered a left oblique injury at the start of the week, Alex Freeland reportedly was en route to Los Angeles as the team mulled a potential move with Kim due to his recent struggles. But the Hernández injury amounted to the Dodgers keeping Kim and Freeland on their roster.
Kim further appeared safe when Teoscar Hernández suffered a left hamstring strain on Wednesday night, which is resulting in Ryan Ward joining the team. Kim entered to play left field and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he would be an option there moving forward, along with Alex Call and Ward.
But the Dodgers have seemingly preferred to bring back Espinal, who does offer some balance as a right-handed hitter off the bench.
After starting the season with the Comets upon losing a position battle to Freeland, Kim hit .259/.323/.328 with three doubles, one triple, one home run and 11 RBI across 43 games with the Dodgers. However, he’d fallen into a slump over the past 15 games and especially in the last week.
“When Tommy (Edman) comes back, we’re going to have to make a move. So that’s inevitable,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently said. “With Hyeseong, it’s just playing and freeing himself up. And not worrying about who’s coming or who’s not coming. Just getting back to being who he is as a ball player.”
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