The Dodgers continue to polish off the final 40-man roster ahead of the 2026 season opener.
Spring Training is the time of year when the most unpredictable scenarios and players emerge from the bowels.
The Los Angeles Dodgers had a case of that this spring with 31-year-old utility man Santiago Espinal.
Espinal signed a minor-league contract with the Dodgers back on February 17 and was later assigned to spring camp on February 21.
Going into camp, the Dodgers were mainly focusing on their infielding options. With Tommy Edman still recovering from offseason ankle surgery, and Hyeseong Kim battling alongside Alex Freeland for the everyday second base job.
Espinal exploded onto the scene and proved to be the answer the Dodgers were looking for. In turn, after the Dodgers 5'-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, the Dodgers selected his contract, and he is now part of the 40-man roster for Opening Day.
In 15 Cactus League games and 36 at-bats, he posted a .389/.432/.639 slash line. He notched 14 hits, drove in 13 RBI, and cranked two home runs in the process.
Along with his offensive numbers, his defensive versatility gave him the edge to make the Opening Day roster.
Espinal can cover the majority of the infield and could provide the flexibility that the Dodgers would have missed with Edman's absence.
He also had the support of his manager, Dave Roberts, early on when he began to pick things up.
Roberts stated that it would be “hard to imagine [Espinal] not being on the team."
That statement in itself was more of an early confirmation before the official news of the Dodgers picking up his contract. But how are they going to utilize him?
Espinal will most likely platoon between Kim and share a bulk of starts at second base.
The Dodgers fill in their infield with Freddie Freeman manning first base, Espinal/Kim at second, Mookie Betts returning to his role as an everyday shortstop, and Max Muncy staying in the hot corner.
Espinal could also play every corner of the outfield, only cementing the argument further that Espinal deserves his spot on the 40-man roster.
If he could continue his offensive output as well, then he could be a sneaky weapon the Dodgers have in their back pocket when inserting him into their already robust starting lineup.
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