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Los Angeles, CA - April 01: Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Enrique Hernández (8) warms up prior to the start of a MLB game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cleveland Guardians at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, April 1, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA. (Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The Dodgers activated infielder/outfielder Kiké Hernández off the 60-day injured list as expected on Monday, and he starts at third base in the series opener against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. Santiago Espinal was designated for assignment, which created room on both the active and 40-man rosters for Hernández.
Hernández had left elbow surgery in November after dealing with that injury for a good chunk of last season. He had a three-week rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City, during which he played 12 games, 10 of them at third base plus one each at second base and center field.
Monday starts Hernández’s 10th season with the Dodgers, for whom he played from 2015-20 and again in 2023-24. He’ll be the 56th player in franchise history to play in at least 10 seasons for the Dodgers, and the 35th position player to do so.
Espinal, signed to provide a right-handed bat off the bench who could play around the infield, started five games at third base and four games at second base. He played in 26 total games and batted 44 times, hitting .220/.238/.366 with three doubles and a home run.
He became a bit redundant with Hernández getting activated. The Dodgers could have also optioned the Hyeseong Kim, who has six hits in his last 40 at-bats with 16 strikeouts and four walks over his last 14 games. But instead they kept Kim around as an extra left-handed bat with excellent defense and plus-speed.
A similar decision arose two weeks ago when Mookie Betts returned from the injured list. Switch-hitter Alex Freeland was the odd man out that day, the 24-year-old optioned such that he could play every day in Triple-A rather than play sparingly on the Dodgers bench. Kim is 27 with seven full seasons in the KBO under his belt, and has less developing to do. He could fit well in a bench role, at least for as long as it takes Tommy Edman to be ready for his own return.
Just before Betts was activated, Katie Woo at The Athletic reported that Espinal and the Dodgers restructured the date at which his $2.5 million contract would be fully guaranteed. Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic on Monday reported that date has not yet been reached, which means Espinal will only be paid on a pro-rated basis for his time with the team. If it takes the full week for Espinal to be claimed off waivers, traded or released, the Dodgers will be on the hook for around $900,000.
Kim starts at second base on Monday night.
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