Dodgers get another win with Santiago Espinal after waiver process

Santiago Espinal went from spring training cult hero to below-average bench option in near-record time, ultimately losing his spot with the Los Angeles Dodgers when the team needed to clear roster space for veteran Kiké Hernández.

The expectation was that he'd be lost to waivers, seeing as he's a strong defender who can play multiple infield positions. Instead, Espinal somewhat miraculously wasn't claimed.

The benefit of this is obvious: The Dodgers would most likely get to keep an experienced utility man around in Oklahoma City without having to harbor him on the 40-man roster. Though Alex Freeland was just called up to handle some infield reps when Hernández went back onto the IL with an oblique tear, just having Espinal as a possible backup to stash in Triple-A added some reassurance.

On Friday, with both Kiké and Teoscar Hernández moved to the IL since Espinal was DFA'ed, Espinal was spotted on the field at Dodger Stadium.

Jack Harris of the California Post reported that although he had cleared waivers, he elected free agency and re-signed a deal with the Dodgers. Hyeseong Kim, whose spot on the roster was already in question due to performance, is being optioned to make room for Espinal.

Dodgers bring back Santiago Espinal after DFA for Kiké Hernández, option Hyeseong Kim

Kiké Hernández returned to the injured list mere days after being activated off it. This time, it's a "severe" oblique tear, one that figures to keep the veteran utility man out for the foreseeable future.

That's obviously not the news that Dodgers fans wanted to hear, but it's further proof of why having someone like Espinal around is so important. Yes, he only hit .220/.238/.366 (66 wRC+) in 44 trips to the plate, but he played above-average defense at the hot corner while holding his own in the middle infield. Combined with his propensity for making contact and avoiding strikeouts, and it's not far-fetched to say that he's still a useful reserve player, even without the ability to do much damage with a bat.

For what it's worth, the Dodgers didn't cut initially cut Espinal just because of poor performance; there was a financial incentive to do so, as the Dodgers avoided fully guaranteeing his salary for the remainder of the 2026 season.

For a team over the final luxury tax threshold, every dollar saved is valuable, even if only to use it on other players. Now, Espinal will presumably play on a cheaper deal.

Kim was in danger of being demoted before Teoscar Hernández even got hurt, but this is still a surprise given the Dodgers' machinations with Espinal. To be fair, they didn't know Kiké was going to get hurt when they gave Espinal the bump, so they're really just lucky he ended up clearing waivers.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow