The Dodgers made a series of roster moves Friday, reconfiguring their bench after a wave of injuries.
They re-signed utility player Santiago Espinal, whose skill set was no longer redundant when Kiké Hernández returned to the injured list, this time with a strained left oblique.
“Obviously you don’t ever know how those things are going to play out,” Dodger general manager Brandon Gomes said Friday. “So when he cleared [waivers] and then became a free agent, we had a couple guys go down right away. We reached back out to see if he would be interested in rejoining us. So luckily he was still in L.A. and that happened.”
In a corresponding move, the Dodgers optioned utility player Hyeseong Kim to triple-A Oklahoma City, giving him regular at-bats in a low-pressure environment to work on his swing. And they transferred left-hander Blake Snell (left elbow) to the 60-day injured list to clear room on the 40-man roster.
“I think [Kim’s] swing has changed,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I think he’s losing his legs a little bit, he’s coming around the ball a little bit, there’s a lot more swing-and-miss than there was early. He is just playing, with my eyes, a little bit more tentative, and not as free and easy as he was in some parts of last year and early on.”
The Dodgers also put Teoscar Hernández (strained left hamstring) on the 10-day IL and recalled outfielder/first baseman Ryan Ward.
Hernández was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain, Roberts said, a less severe injury than expected. But the team does not have a timeline for his return.
Said Gomes: “Once he gets going, we’re hoping it’ll be a quick return, and we’ll try to get him some rehab at-bats. When that happened last year, we probably rushed it a bit on that front.”
Last year, Hernández played in just one rehab game returning from a strained groin.
In Hernández’ absence, Alex Call and Ward are expected to share time in left field, in what Roberts said won’t be a “complete platoon.” The right-handed hitting Call started Friday, even though the Dodgers faced Phillies right-handed starter Zack Wheeler.
“Wheeler is just a really good pitcher,” said Roberts about the three-time All-Star. “I want Alex to be in there and just feel that Alex can kind of manage him and take some good at-bats.”
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