In their latest roster crunch, the Dodgers made the expected move Monday.
With Kiké Hernández returning from the injured list, veteran utility man Santiago Espinal was designated for assignment.
Espinal being the odd man out for Hernández’s activation was no surprise. Ever since the former All-Star made the team coming out of spring training, he seemed like a de facto place-holder until Hernández returned from offseason elbow surgery.
Leading up to Hernández’s scheduled activation on Monday, however, intrigue had intensified over the corresponding move.
Espinal himself hadn’t done much to change the calculus, batting just .220 in extremely limited playing time this year.
But amid a recent slump from Hyeseong Kim, the Dodgers suddenly had another option to think about.
It was only a couple weeks ago, remember, that Kim survived the first roster crunch of this Dodgers’ season –– staying on the MLB roster over Alex Freeland when Mookie Betts returned from a month-long oblique injury.
At that time, Kim kept his spot because of how well he was playing. After beginning the year in the minors, he had hit .314 with only 14 strikeouts over 26 games.
Since then, though, the second-year South Korean import has struggled. Mightily.
Going back to May 8, he entered Monday just 6-for-his-last-40 with 16 strikeouts and no extra-base hits.
The slump was dire enough that, when manager Dave Roberts was asked about the team’s upcoming roster decision on Sunday afternoon, he acknowledged Kim was in the conversation for getting sent down.
“He’s back to chasing [too many pitches out of the strike zone],” Roberts said, referencing how Kim’s scuffles lately mirrored the problems he encountered as a rookie big-leaguer last year.
“He’s passive when he shouldn’t be, and then he’s getting into bad counts.”
Roberts still pointed to Kim’s positive attributes: A plus infielder defensively, the kind of left-handed hitter that better suits the current construction of the club’s roster, and a well-liked teammate who is always “preparing and competing.”
“But right now,” Roberts added, “it’s just not working.”
And on the eve of Hernández’s return, he continued, “we’ve got to have a tough conversation.”
Ultimately, Kim once again skirted such bad news.
Having both Hernández and Espinal –– each of whom is a right-handed-hitting utility man –– would have been too redundant for a team still in need of a left-handed platoon bat at second base.
Alas, Kim’s runway for regular playing time is nonetheless getting shorter.
Another roster crunch is looming as Tommy Edman, who will likely take over everyday duties at second base when he returns from an offseason ankle injury, prepares to begin a minor-league rehab assignment.
That means, while Kim is safe for now, he might only have a few more weeks to try and re-establish himself as a reliable big-league hitter.
The fact that he was under consideration at all for Monday’s decision was a warning sign.
He’s officially on the clock to turn things around.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
