Former Dodger Edwin Rios Reveals Hurt After LA Gave Up on Him Late Last Season

Edwin Rios spent parts of the last four seasons in the big leagues with the Dodgers, even hitting two home runs in the 2020 NLCS on his way to earning a World Series ring. But his 2021 season started very poorly before shoulder surgery ended his year prematurely. In 2022, he got some early time in the big leagues before a hamstring injury sent him to the injured list. After his rehab stint with Triple-A Oklahoma City, Los Angeles left him there to finish the season.

After the season ended, Rios was non-tendered by LA, making him a free agent for the first time in his career. He recently signed with the Cubs, and Los Angeles Times reporter Jorge Castillo talked with him at Chicago's spring training camp about the end of his time with the Dodgers.

Just spoke with Edwin Ríos at Cubs camp. He said not getting called up after his injury last season was like getting “punched in the gut.” Said he was healthy and signed so late in the offseason to pick the best situation. He chose not to play for PR in WBC to focus on new team.
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) February 20, 2023

He added to that thought with Jorge Castillo with the LA Times.

“It was really frustrating,” Ríos said. “It sucked just watching from the sidelines and how the year ended. But it is what it is.”

Rios's OPS with OKC during his rehab stint was .807, which isn't terrible but it's not close to the numbers he had previously posted in Triple-A. He hit just one homer during rehab, and LA had just acquired Joey Gallo a couple weeks earlier, so it made sense why the team didn't immediately put him back on the big-league roster when he was healthy.

As the season went on, his power came back somewhat, and he ended up hitting nine homers in 218 plate appearances in Triple-A. But his on-base percentage dropped down to .339, and he struck out in 30.3% of his plate appearances, so nothing about his play forced the Dodgers' hand and made them call him up.

In the end, the big thing working against Rios was the lack of a position to play. His two positions are first base and third base, and the 2022 Dodgers had Freddie Freeman at first base every day and Justin Turner and Max Muncy splitting time at third base. With that working against him, Rios's bat would have had to force the issue, and it just didn't.

Rios will always be a fan favorite in Los Angeles for his prodigious homers, but he was well served by LA's decision to cut him loose and let him find a situation where more playing time would be available.