Dodgers make first round of spring training cuts as former top prospect's fate is sealed

The Dodgers are running a huge camp out at Camelback. Their first non-roster invite list numbered over 30 players, on top of everyone on the 40-man. The vast majority of those NRIs have absolutely no chance of making the Opening Day roster and never did. They know, we know it, everyone knows it.

So it's a little surprising that the Dodgers waited a little while to make their first cuts of spring training, but they chopped a significant number of players on Monday morning, including top prospects Patrick Copen and Adam Serwinowski, and former top prospects Nick Frasso and Keston Hiura.

Hiura is perhaps the most intriguing (and saddest) cut here. The Brewers' former first-round pick has fallen on desperately hard times since a very promising rookie campaign in 2019 and has hopped around between four organizations since 2024. He signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in mid-February.

He was hit on the hand by a pitch on Saturday and removed from a game against the Cubs. The severity of the injury is still unclear, but Hiura won't get a chance to prove he can bounce back from it in major league spring training.

Dodgers' first round of spring training cuts jettisons 11 players, including two top prospects and former top prospect Keston Hiura

Hiura wasn't having a great go of things before he was injured, though. He was batting .077 with a .602 OPS through seven games, and the only highlight was a lone solo homer on Feb. 26 against the White Sox. The strikeouts issues that have always plagued him were on display again; he struck out in six out of 13 at bats.

It's unclear if Hiura has an upward mobility clause — the same one that allowed David Bote to make himself available to any team with interest and an open 40-man roster spot after failing to make the Dodgers' roster last year — and he might be stuck with yet another Triple-A team until further notice.

It's always good to have some depth stashed away in the majors, but something catastrophic would have to happen for Hiura, a first and second baseman, to get a major league call-up, given the depth on the major league roster as it is.

If Hiura sticks around in the Dodgers' organization, we should probably expect him to light it up in Oklahoma City as, historically, an excellent Triple-A hitter. But some guys just can't put it all together and make that step up to the majors, and Hiura just might be one of those guys.