The Los Angeles Dodgers designated Mike Freeman for assignment on Monday in a corresponding move to make room for the addition of Yu Darvish on the 40-man roster. Darvish was acquired from the Texas Rangers in exchange for A.J. Alexy, Willie Calhoun and Brendon Davis.
Peter O’Brien suffered the same fate as Freeman, as he was designated for assignment in order to create room for Tony Watson on the 40-man roster. The Dodgers acquired Watson from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Minor Leaguers Angel German and Oneil Cruz.
The Dodgers’ moves with Freeman and O’Brien triggered a seven-day period where the club can attempt to trade either player or place them on waivers. Neither has the requisite playing time to reject an outright assignment to the Minors in the event they are to clear waivers.
The Dodgers claimed Freeman off waivers from the Seattle Mariners on May 26, 2017. He appeared in four games with Los Angeles, going 0-for-5 with two strikeouts. Freeman hit .306/.384/.372 in 41 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Freeman made previous stints in the Majors last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Mariners, and joined Seattle for a brief stretch this year. He’s a lifetime 7-for-57 with one double, one home run and four RBI in 41 MLB games over two seasons.
The Dodgers claimed O’Brien off waivers from the Rangers on June 18. He hit .247/.347/.529 with six doubles, six home runs and 16 RBI in 22 games with Double-A Tulsa.
O’Brien has appeared in a combined 36 Major League games with the Diamondbacks over parts of the 2015 and 2016 seasons. He has 13 hits in 74 career MLB at-bats, with six home runs and 12 RBI. O’Brien made his MLB debut against the Dodgers at Chase Field.
