Veteran infielder Santiago Espinal is in Dodgers camp as a non-roster invitee, but it seems he’s already positioned himself as a favorite to break camp with the club. Manager Dave Roberts said this morning that it’s “hard to imagine [Espinal] not being on the team” (via Jack Harris of the California Post). Plenty can change over the final few weeks of camp, but it’s still notable that Espinal already has caught the attention of his new skipper. Roberts spoke highly of Espinal when players reported to camp, and the veteran infielder has since gone 8-for-14 with a pair of doubles and a stolen base in his first handful of Cactus League plate appearances.
Espinal is a versatile, righty-swinging infielder with considerable experience at both third base (1794 MLB innings) and second base (1621 innings). He’s also logged 343 major league frames at shortstop (most coming back in 2020), chipped in 114 innings in the outfield corners and logged another 16 at first base. It’s the sort of defensive flexibility that the Dodgers tend to prioritize with their bench players.
The 31-year-old Espinal has spent the past two seasons in Cincinnati, struggling at the plate both years. He hit a combined .245/.294/.322 in 719 plate appearances as a Red but provided some solid defensive chops at the hot corner in particular. He’d be more of a second base option with the Dodgers — a potential right-handed complement to lefty-hitting Hyeseong Kim, who’s entering the second season of a three-year contract.
Kim played superlative second base defense last season but was largely shielded from left-handed pitching. He hit well in the 21 left-on-left plate appearances the Dodgers allowed him to take (8-for-21 with a double and a homer), but Kim also fanned at a near-31% clip in 170 plate appearances overall and posted poor batted-ball metrics. Espinal is a career .291/.344/.409 hitter versus left-handed pitching. Back in 2021-22, he slashed a combined .282/.340/.382 in 737 plate appearances for the Blue Jays.
Second base is eventually earmarked for the versatile Tommy Edman, but he’s expected to begin the season on the injured list as he continues recovering from November ankle surgery. Kim’s stellar defense gives him a strong chance to secure regular work at second base in the interim, though veteran Miguel Rojas is on hand as an alternative, as is well-regarded prospect Alex Freeland.
Breaking camp with Espinal on the roster would allow the Dodgers to more easily get Freeland everyday at-bats back in Triple-A. The switch-hitting 24-year-old was L.A.’s third-round pick in 2022 and is a year removed from ranking among baseball’s top-100 prospects at Baseball America and MLB.com. He turned in a nice .263/.384/.451 batting line in Triple-A last season (115 wRC+) but hit .190/.292/.310 with 35 strikeouts in 97 MLB plate appearances.
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