Double Dodgers roster crunch looms as Mookie Betts' timeline accelerates

On Thursday, the Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets announced that Mookie Betts will be joining them for a rehab assignment starting on Friday.

It was a surprise for Dodgers fans but certainly not an unwelcome one. Although the offense is starting to come out of their collective slumber, having Betts back in the lineup — probably right behind Shohei Ohtani — might yank them out of it fully.

Kiké Hernández is also down in Triple-A right now, which means that he and Betts could be back for LA's Freeway Series against the Angels, which starts next Friday, or maybe even earlier if the Dodgers deem both ready to go.

So two of Alex Freeland, Santiago Espinal, and Hyeseong Kim will find themselves either back in Triple-A or team-less in a matter of days. When it was just Hernández making steady progress back, Espinal was the obvious cut, but it seemed like Freeland and Kim would have a little longer to set themselves apart from one another depending on Betts' timeline.

But, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, Betts could be back as early as Monday for the Dodgers' opener against the Giants. Kim and Freeland now have just one series left to prove why one should survive in the majors over the other.

Mookie Betts' surprise Triple-A rehab assignment means one of Hyeseong Kim, Alex Freeland is on the way out soon

Right now, Kim and Freeland look like very comparable players. Kim is hitting for average and has struck out less on the season so far, but Freeland might finally be breaking out. He's hitting .333 with a .916 OPS over his last seven games.

Kim just received glowing praise and comparisons to four-time Gold Glover Andrelton Simmons from first base coach Chris Woodward, but the Dodgers have a track record of prioritizing Freeland. Demoting Kim could be a case of last-one-in, first-one-out.

It might boil down to what they can do during the Dodgers' weekend series against the Braves, who are tied with the Yankees and Cubs for the best record in baseball entering play on Friday. LA has already been tested plenty this season, but this series looks like a surefire postseason preview.

If either of Kim or Freeland can come up clutch or pull off a run-saving play — anything that could state their case loudly and clearly — that guy might be the one who stays alive.

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