Dodgers decision time coming with Mookie Betts returning

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Los Angeles, CA - April 25: Second baseman Alex Freeland #76 drops a ball as teammate Hyeseong Kim #6 of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on as Seiya Suzuki and teammate Moises Ballesteros (not pictured) of the Chicago Cubs in the eighth inning of a baseball game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images) | MediaNews Group via Getty Images

With Mookie Betts set to be activated off the injured list on Monday after missing over five weeks with a strained oblique, the Dodgers have a decision to make — either option one of Alex Freeland or Hyeseong Kim, or designate veteran Santiago Espinal for assignment.

Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register looked at the upcoming corresponding roster move, including this from Dave Roberts on Kim:

“I think that he’s done a much better job of controlling the strike zone,” Roberts said. “I think that’s something that we felt he could be exposed by balls at the top (of the strike zone), spin down below. He’s done a much better job of managing that, I think, so that’s probably the biggest thing.

“He’s got the ability to put the bat on the ball, get hits, steal bases, play good defense. And I think he’s done all that. I think for me, just the plate discipline piece has been much better.”

Katie Woo at The Athletic added a detail of Espinal’s $2.5 million contract:

The Dodgers included an advanced consent clause in that deal, per multiple league sources, a provision that permits a team to release a player within the first 45 days of a contract without paying the remainder of the player’s owed salary. According to those sources, that deal was restructured and the deadline extended.

That would indicate that the Dodgers are planning to keep Espinal, at least for now, leaving the decision down to Freeland or Kim.

Links​

• A bad throw by Justin Wrobleski opened the door to a four-run second inning in Sunday’s loss, but he still remained in until two outs in the ninth inning. From Maddie Lee at the Los Angeles Times, Wrobleski said, “It’s just,one half-inning of being pissed off about it, and then you’ve got to keep going back out there and doing your thing. … So yeah, it’s frustrating. It’s annoying because now I look back at it and, yeah, that’s what cost me from having a good outing.”
• Ted Turner died last week at age 87. Marc Normandin at Baseball Prospectus looked at how Turner helped change baseball during his time as owner of the Atlanta Braves, and the advent of the first television “superstation” TBS.

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