Dodgers breaking silence on Tommy Edman's status starts the clock on Hyeseong Kim

The Dodgers have been anything but transparent when it comes to Tommy Edman's timeline to return. Since he underwent ankle surgery last November, the only real updates have been "the boot has come off" or "he's on a slow program" — neither of which were particularly helpful.

Which is why it felt a little (or a lot) out of nowhere when Dave Roberts told reporters on Monday that Edman will begin a rehab assignment in Triple-A on Tuesday. Having missed so much time, he's expected to stay there for the maximum three weeks allowed.

So, great. The Dodgers are finally on their way to getting back one of their higher-paid position players when it was looking like that five-year, $74 million contract extension they gave him after the 2024 season might not've been such a good idea. But it means yet another roster crunch is coming, and there's really only one guy left to get rid of who makes sense.

For fan favorite Hyeseong Kim, a trip back to Oklahoma City looks like a when, not an if.

Hyeseong Kim's time on the Dodgers roster is almost certainly coming to an end as Tommy Edman begins a rehab assignment

Kim has survived two roster crunches: when Mookie Betts was activated and the Dodgers optioned Alex Freeland, and when Kiké Hernández was activated and Santiago Espinal was finally DFA'ed. These were the obvious moves to make at the time, but Edman's return has been hanging over Kim since he was called up in early April.

He's batting .257 with a .652 OPS in 41 games, but even if he had been hitting better, he'd still be the only option. The Dodgers' roster is basically airtight on the position player side, and Edman can do everything Kim can do defensively.

A lot can happen in three weeks, of course. Max Muncy is day-to-day, but if Dodgers fans had to put money on it right now, we'd probably bet on him eventually going onto the IL. Any number of freak accidents can happen.

Based on what we know, though, Kim will be back in Oklahoma City as soon as Edman is back in Triple-A. It's another flexing of the Dodgers' muscles — they can bring a multi-million dollar player back while sending another to the minors with zero remorse.

It'll force an old issue again. If the Dodgers aren't actually using Kim, why don't they trade him? But we'll get there when we get there.

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