Dodgers Appear Set to Keep Santiago Espinal Over Hyeseong Kim, Alex Freeland

The Los Angeles Dodgers have a big decision to make on Monday as shortstop Mookie Betts is making his return to the active roster after spending five weeks on the injured list due to an oblique injury.

The Dodgers replaced Betts with a platoon at shortstop between Miguel Rojas and Hyeseong Kim, the latter of which started the season in Triple-A and was called up when Betts went on the injured list.

Kim is one of three candidates to be removed from the roster as the corresponding move for Betts. However, he's done nothing but impress since being called up, hitting .289 with an OPS of .748 while playing above-average defense.

If not Kim, the only other player that could be optioned who would make sense is infielder Alex Freeland, who's earned a majority of the opportunities at second base this season.

Freeland is hitting .235 with an OPS of .646, while also playing above-average defense.

If the Dodgers wanted to keep both Kim and Freeland at the major league level, they would be forced to designate Santiato Espinal for assignment. Espinal, the 26th man on the roster, is hitting .188 with an OPS of .438 across just 32 at-bats; Freeland has taken 98 at-bats, while Kim has 76.

It would appear that the obvious move would be to DFA Espinal, since he's playing the worst of the bunch and is getting sporadic playing time. However, the Dodgers like the idea of having Espinal at the end of their bench as a right-handed option, and moreover, enjoy having someone on the bench who doesn't need to play every day.

The Dodgers want both Kim and Freeland to get consistent playing time as they continue their development. Having both on the bench would seem somewhat counterintuitive.

While the Dodgers are figuring out their plan ahead of Monday's series opener against the San Francisco Giants, The Athletic's Katie Woo revealed a piece of information that seems to hint Espinal won't be going anywhere.

"The Dodgers included an advanced consent clause in [Espinal's] deal, per multiple league sources, a provision that permits a team to release a player within the first 45 days of a contract without paying the remainder of the player’s owed salary. According to those sources, that deal was restructured and the deadline extended," Woo wrote.

"That would indicate that the Dodgers are planning to keep Espinal, at least for now, leaving the decision down to Freeland or Kim."

The Dodgers signed Espinal to a one-year, $2.5 million deal this spring, but could get out of paying him the entire amount per this clause. The fact that they extended the deadline regarding the cluase appears to signal that they will keep him on the roster at least a little longer.

Kiké Hernández is currently on a rehab assignment and is expected to be activated on May 25. Hernández will almost certainly be replacing Espinal, as they're both right-handed utility players.

While it's unclear how long the deadline in Espinal's contract has been extended for, it would make sense if it were a couple more weeks before Hernández is able to return. And if that's the case, it appears the Dodgers are planning on keeping Espinal for two more weeks, while one of Kim or Freeland heads to Triple-A.

Kim and Freeland battled for the final roster spot in spring training, with Freeland ultimately winning the job. Six weeks later, the Dodgers appear set to face that same decision. This one, however, could bring a different outcome.

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