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Santiago Espinal had two more hits in three at-bats in the Dodgers’ win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday in Scottsdale, keeping his Cactus League on-base percentage at a tidy .667, having reached base 12 times in 18 at-bats.
Espinal has eight hits, including two doubles this spring, plus four walks, putting his best foot forward.
The day he signed a minor league deal was the same day manager Dave Roberts officially ruled out Tommy Edman for opening day as he rehabs from ankle surgery. That opened up a competition for playing time at second base and potentially by extension, a bench spot. Roberts that day mentioned Espinal as being in the mix for making the roster.
Espinal has been used like a veteran working his way into a season this spring, having started six times in 10 days, on an every-other-day schedule other than back-to-back efforts on Friday and into Saturday’s split-squad day.
Jack Harris at The California Post last week wrote about Espinal’s potential path to making the Dodgers roster:
“The Dodgers told me I’d have a great opportunity here to compete,” Espinal told The California Post this week. “And as soon as I got here, they welcomed me with open arms.”
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“Things bode well for him,” manager Dave Roberts said Friday, offering a hint about Espinal’s chances of breaking camp with the club. “He’s really a helpful, winning player in my opinion, (who) raises the floor.”
Five of Espinal’s six starts have come at third base this spring, plus another start at second base. Those are the two positions he’s played the most in his six seasons in the majors, plus a little bit of shortstop and left field at times. In many ways, Espinal fills the void left by Andy Ibáñez, who was signed to a one-year, $1.2 million deal in January but was then lost on waivers to the A’s. Both are right-handed batters, and Espinal’s 107 career wRC+ against left-handed pitchers offer a glimpse to what his role might be if he makes the Dodgers.
The other two Dodgers vying for a roster spot with potential time at second base are Hyeseong Kim, a left-handed batter, and Alex Freeland, a switch-hitter who has better numbers while batting lefty since getting drafted in 2022.
Kim started four games — three at second base, once in center field — before leaving to play for Korea in the World Baseball Classic, and had six hits in 13 at-bats (.462) with a home run. Freeland has started seven games, five at shortstop, twice at second. He has three hits, including two doubles in 14 at-bats plus six walks this spring for a .429 on-base percentage.
“I just like the way he’s playing, whether it’s at second, at short, in the box, batting left-handed, batting right-handed. I think right now, he’s just comfortable being who he is, comfortable in the clubhouse,” Roberts said of Freeland, to Kirsten Watson after Monday’s game on SportsNet LA. “He’s had a big offseason. He came in a lot more mature for me, and just the way he’s going about it.”
There’s room on the Dodgers roster for at least two of Espinal, Kim, and Freeland, at least until Edman is ready. There are the other eight lineup regulars plus backup catcher Dalton Rushing and veteran infielder Miguel Rojas — himself a candidate for playing time at second base — as roster locks. That leaves three open spots on the active roster. One of those spots will probably go to an outfielder, and whether Kim counts in that regard will go a long way in determining whether all three of Espinal, Kim, and Freeland are active three weeks from now.