GLENDALE, Ariz. \u2014 Life on the fringes of a major-league roster is not easy.<\/p>\n
Michael Siani is a light-hitting outfielder valued for his glove. He has played in the majors for the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals over the past four seasons but as many as 20 games just once (124 in 2024 with the Cardinals).<\/p>\n
He opened last season with the Cardinals but played his last game for them in mid-June and ended the season playing in Triple-A.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when things really picked up for the 26-year-old Siani.<\/p>\n
Every November, players who might be eligible for the Rule 5 draft are added to major-league rosters to protect them from the draft. When the Cardinals made their additions, Siani was knocked off the 40-man and placed on waivers. The Atlanta Braves claimed him.<\/p>\n
A little over a month later, the Braves signed free agent outfielder Mike Yastrzemski and designated Siani for assignment to clear a roster spot. Siani was claimed on waivers by the Dodgers.<\/p>\n
In January, the Dodgers made a bigger move to add an outfielder, signing Kyle Tucker. Once again, Siani was knocked off the 40-man roster. He was designated for assignment again and claimed by the New York Yankees.<\/p>\n
Siani was a member of the Yankees organization for about 10 days. They designated him for assignment after acquiring free-agent reliever Angel Chivili in a trade with the Colorado Rockies. The Yankees needed a roster spot. It was Siani\u2019s. This time, he was reclaimed by the Dodgers on waivers<\/a>, completing his offseason journey \u2013 for now.<\/p>\n \u201cKind of waiting for the phone to ring a lot this offseason,\u201d Siani said. \u201cFortunately, I was home for it. I wasn\u2019t traveling, having to figure out \u2018Oh, I have to be at this place at this time\u2019 and such.\u201d<\/p>\n What are those calls like?<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re usually very short,\u201d Siani said with a wry chuckle. \u201cSome representative from the team lets you know, \u2018Hey, we made this move. We need a roster spot.\u2019 Then they have to call you again and say, \u2018Hey, this team claimed you off waivers. They\u2019re going to reach out to you.\u2019 Same thing, such and such. It\u2019s pretty much two calls each time \u2013 they\u2019re letting you know they got you and we\u2019re going to take you off. Then they let you know if someone else grabs you.\u201d<\/p>\n All of the movement this offseason just reinforced what Siani already knew.<\/p>\n \u201cThis game is a business,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes you learn that the hard way. Sometimes you learn that the easy way. I think it\u2019s important to understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n Business or not, it must be hard not to get insulted by each DFA.<\/p>\n \u201cIt does put a little bit of a chip on your shoulder,\u201d Siani said. \u201cAll 30 teams had a chance to grab me. Luckily, the Dodgers held on to me to this point. It gives you more motivation and makes you want to be successful. You see the guys in this locker room and how successful a lot of them are. Them winning two championships in a row and some of them having even more shows how much they value winning here in this organization. It\u2019s why a lot of people want to come here and play.\u201d<\/p>\n With each move, Siani said he might reach out to anyone he knew in that organization to get a feel for the situation he might be stepping into. But \u201cI try not to get ahead of myself\u201d and go too far in imagining himself in that new home.<\/p>\n \u201cYes and no,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not the GM. I\u2019m not the President of Baseball Operations. I\u2019m not going to act like I am. I\u2019m not going to play that game. However it\u2019s going to play out is how it\u2019s going to play out. I just have to deal with the reality.\u201d<\/p>\n That can be a harsh reality, as Siani found out multiple times this winter. But he isn\u2019t complaining.<\/p>\n \u201cListen \u2013 I signed up for it. This is what I want to do. It comes with it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey always say if you don\u2019t like it, play better. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve got to do.\u201d<\/p>\n READY FREDDIE<\/p>\n First baseman Freddie Freeman made his spring debut Tuesday and drove in two runs with a double into the left-center field gap.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now today is as good as I\u2019ve seen his swing, over the course of a week sample, than I have in two years,\u201d Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. \u201cHe\u2019s in a good spot physically, mechanically. If we can keep him healthy, I just don\u2019t see why he can\u2019t have the year he expects and with everything that he went through the last couple years he was still productive. That says a lot, for me, about the character.\u201d<\/p>\n Freeman\u2019s most important swing analyst passed the same judgment on his swing this spring.<\/p>\n \u201cMy dad said it also,\u201d Freeman said Tuesday.<\/p>\n Over his first two seasons with the Dodgers, Freeman hit .328 with a .948 OPS. In 2024, however, he dealt with a broken finger<\/a>, the illness of his son, Maximus<\/a>, and a severe ankle injury<\/a> in September. That injury required surgery following the season<\/a> and limited Freeman into 2025<\/a>. His average dipped below .300 and his OPS under .900 each of those two seasons<\/a>.<\/p>\n After a fully healthy offseason, Freeman expects a return to the 2022-23 level.<\/p>\n \u201cThe whole offseason last year, I was seeing if I could get into a stance,\u201d Freeman said, recalling the discomfort caused by his ankle injury. \u201cAnd I hadn\u2019t swung a bat until a day before Fanfest last year. So obviously just a normal offseason definitely helps.<\/p>\n \u201cI had no offseason last year. I still thought I did all right. \u2026 I expect to play like I normally do. I thought I did all right with no offseason and nursing something for five straight months. It\u2019s not what I\u2019m used to, but I still think we did all right, and we won the World Series. If I can stay healthy, which I think I know how to do \u2026 I expect to play like I normally do.\u201d<\/p>\n Freeman batted fourth in his spring debut on Tuesday with Kyle Tucker second. Roberts indicated that might be the order to start the season (with Shohei Ohtani at leadoff and Mookie Betts likely third).<\/p>\n \u201cAs we stand here today, I like that going forward. It could change at some point for whatever unforeseen circumstances,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cBut I just feel with Kyle in the two, lefty-righty matchups don\u2019t bother him. He\u2019s an on-base machine and that starts to bleed into guys in the 3-4-5 that I feel really good about being run producers and hitting with guys on base \u2013 yeah, I sort of like that now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GLENDALE, Ariz. \u2014 Life on the fringes of a major-league roster is not easy. 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