In their latest roster crunch, the Dodgers made the expected move Monday.
With Kiké Hernández returning from the injured list, veteran utility man Santiago Espinal was designated for assignment.
Espinal being the odd man out for Hernández’s activation was no surprise. Ever since the former All-Star made the team coming out of spring training, he seemed like a de facto place-holder until Hernández returned from offseason elbow surgery.
“We were very forthright up front about the expectations, so I think he respected that,” manager Dave Roberts said. “[He’s] a complete pro.”
Leading up to Hernández’s scheduled activation on Monday, however, intrigue had nonetheless intensified over what the team’s corresponding move would be.
Espinal himself hadn’t done much to change the calculus, batting just .220 in extremely limited playing time this year.
But amid a recent slump from Hyeseong Kim, the Dodgers suddenly had another option to contemplate.
It was only a couple weeks ago, remember, that Kim survived the first roster crunch of this Dodgers’ season –– staying on the MLB roster over Alex Freeland when Mookie Betts returned from a month-long oblique injury.
At that time, Kim kept his spot because of how well he was playing. After beginning the year in the minors, he had hit .314 with only 14 strikeouts over his first 26 games back in the majors.
“When he plays,” Roberts said of Kim last month, “he always does something to help the team win.”
Alas, that has not remained the case lately.
Going back to May 8, the second-year South Korean import has struggled mightily, entering Monday a woeful 6-for-his-last-40 with 16 strikeouts and no extra-base hits.
He acknowledged he hasn’t felt great with his swing, which in turn has led to worse swing decisions as well.
“I recognize what I need to work on,” he said through an interpreter.
Still, the slump was bad enough that, when Roberts was asked about the team’s upcoming roster decision on Sunday afternoon, he acknowledged Kim was in the conversation for getting sent down.
“He’s back to chasing [too many pitches out of the strike zone],” Roberts said, referencing how Kim’s scuffles lately mirrored the problems he encountered as a rookie big-leaguer last year.
“He’s passive when he shouldn’t be, and then he’s getting into bad counts. I don’t know if it’s a mechanical thing, but he’s been grinding the last – quite honestly, the last month it’s been kind of tough for him.”
Roberts also pointed to Kim’s positive attributes: A plus infielder defensively, the kind of left-handed hitter that better suits the current construction of the club’s roster, and a well-liked teammate who is always “preparing and competing.”
“But right now, it’s just not working,” Roberts acknowledged. “We’ve got to have a tough conversation.”
Ultimately, Kim once again skirted such bad news.
The Dodgers stuck with their plan to cut Espinal, who would have been redundant upon Hernández’s return as a fellow right-handed-hitting utility bat. Kim, meanwhile, was back in the lineup for Monday night’s series opener against the Colorado Rockies, continuing on in his platoon role at second base against right-handed pitching.
“[I want] Hyeseong just playing and freeing himself up and not worrying about kind of who’s coming, who’s not coming,” Roberts said. “Just kind of get back to being who he is as a ball player.”
That doesn’t mean Kim has a prolonged runway for continued playing time.
With Tommy Edman set to begin a minor-league rehab stint with triple-A Oklahoma City this week, another roster crunch is looming, as Edman will likely take over everyday duties at second base when eventually returns from an offseason ankle injury that has sidelined him to start the year.
That means, while Kim is safe for now, he is officially on the clock to turn things around.
The fact that he was under consideration at all for Monday’s roster cut only underscored his precarious situation.
“It’s my job to produce, so I’m always focused on producing numbers,” Kim said. “Given the [roster] situation, I’m not trying to think about it too much. Just keep working hard, and keep producing as best I can.”
