GOODYEAR, Ariz. – There is a former All-Star making waves at Los Angeles Dodgers camp. But, unlike the organization’s big splashes this winter, Santiago Espinal wasn’t even with the organization when camp opened. He signed a minor-league deal, hoping to fill a role on the back end of the juggernaut’s bench.
That job appears to be his.
“It’d be hard to imagine him not being on the team,” manager Dave Roberts said Thursday morning.
Espinal’s emergence is not the result of his torrid spring — he is 10-for-16 with four extra-base hits — but those results certainly don’t hurt. He fits “seamlessly,” Roberts said, with former Toronto Blue Jays teammate Teoscar Hernández among those to vouch for him.
His likely inclusion on the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster should come as little surprise. The organization has sought utility depth with Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández both out to start the season, and the club already signed and lost Andy Ibáñez to waivers in an effort to fill the hole.
Like just about everything in camp, there is little suspense with the Dodgers’ roster. The issues that have cropped up (such as Roki Sasaki’s struggles) won’t change much of that picture.
Let’s take a look.
Catchers (2): Will Smith, Dalton Rushing
Smith is with Team USA for the World Baseball Classic, opening up plenty of opportunities for Rushing to serve as the team’s primary catcher in camp. The Dodgers still view Rushing as a starting-level catcher — an assessment that Rushing himself agrees with.
The abundance of opportunity would’ve caught him flat-footed this time a year ago. This spring, Rushing has instead acquitted himself well. He’s opened up his stance and is standing a little bit more upright in the box — something he said has helped him track pitches better. He’s stuck with it because it’s worked. He’s slugged a pair of home runs this spring and nearly had another on a ball that knocked off the top of the wall Wednesday afternoon against Team Mexico and wound up as a triple.
Infielders (6): Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Miguel Rojas, Hyeseong Kim, Espinal
The only real position battle of spring is essentially on pause. Kim and Alex Freeland are the primary options to fill the long side of a second-base platoon with Rojas, but Kim is currently with Team Korea at the WBC (he went hitless in its opener against Czechia).
The Dodgers like what they’ve seen from both players. Kim has continued to revamp his swing, becoming less rotational in hopes of generating more consistent contact against high-velocity fastballs and breaking balls. Freeland has looked more comfortable at the plate, generating contact more in line with his Triple-A numbers than what he did in striking out 36.1 percent of the time in the big leagues last year.
It appears Kim has the inside track. One factor in his favor: Kim can play center field, giving the organization some much-needed insurance behind Andy Pages with Edman still working his way back from ankle surgery.
Then there’s Espinal, who seemingly has found something in his swing after a miserable year in Cincinnati (.575 OPS).
He’s worked with the team’s hitting coach to correct his swing path. They’ve emphasized being aggressive in the zone. It’s resulted in loud, consistent contact.
“My mind was just (to) go out there and compete,” Espinal said. “It doesn’t matter. And that’s what I’m doing, just competing and make sure everything is good with my work.”
A pair of home runs and six RBIs against his former team Thursday certainly helped his already-rosy numbers in Cactus League play. His role will be a limited one, serving as depth at every infield spot (he started at first base Thursday) as well as the corner outfield while Hernández rehabs.
Starting on IL: Edman (ankle), Hernández (elbow)
Outfielders (4): Kyle Tucker, Teoscar Hernández, Pages, Alex Call
This has been the most clear-cut group of spring. Hernández has largely looked fine defensively in his return to right field. Tucker has appeared in just four games in camp and was away this week due to the birth of his first child, but he has plenty of time to get up to speed.
Roberts raved about Pages on Wednesday after he homered, doubled and nearly left the yard again on a foul ball against Mexico. More than anything, the Dodgers have appreciated Pages’ emphasis on a better overall approach. It’s also easy to forget after his miserable October that Pages was one of the better center fielders in baseball a year ago, ranking fourth among primary center fielders with 4.1 FanGraphs WAR while slugging 27 home runs.
Kim provides a contingency behind him. So does Call, who started in center field earlier this week.
Two-way player (1): Shohei Ohtani
Yoshinobu Yamamoto has made two spring training starts, going three innings and throwing 52 pitches in the second one. (Rick Scuteri / Imagn Images)
While his pitching progression still ultimately depends on what work he can get in on off days during the WBC, Ohtani’s ready to go as a hitter. The Dodgers ultimately need more of his bat than his arm during the regular season, given that they’ve gotten 50-plus home runs and an MVP out of him in each of his first two seasons as a Dodger.
Starting pitchers (5): Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan
The Dodgers have five off days in March and April, so they can open with a five-man rotation even with Ohtani, Yamamoto and Sasaki needing extra days of rest.
The only real drama might be Sheehan against the clock. An illness kept Sheehan out of Cactus League games until Wednesday. While there is still enough time for Sheehan to get fully built up to start the season, there’s no margin for error.
If River Ryan is not ready to start the year, he has certainly made his own case with how good he’s looked in his return from Tommy John surgery. So has Justin Wrobleski, who has flashed some added confidence after pitching well during last year’s World Series. Cole Irvin is around as depth, though he surrendered three home runs in three innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday.
Then there’s Sasaki. His next start will come on a back field rather than in a Cactus League game. Roberts said it was a matter of scheduling, not a response to Sasaki’s clear struggles this spring.
“I think it’s just more of an easier, controlled (outing),” Roberts said. “We got to build up, all the while being good too, right?”
It remains a situation worth monitoring, even if Sasaki is all but guaranteed a rotation spot.
Starting on IL: Blake Snell (shoulder), Gavin Stone (shoulder)
Bullpen (9): Edwin Díaz, Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, Jack Dreyer, Will Klein, Ben Casparius, Wrobleski, Ben Casparius, Kyle Hurt
The back end of the bullpen remains very much a mystery. Wrobleski is being stretched out to start, but he showed himself to be a valuable reliever last October. He and Casparius could help provide length when needed early in the season.
Edgardo Henriquez has had a poor spring, which could open the door for Hurt, who is now officially a reliever, to potentially open the season on the roster.
“He is a valuable piece to a major-league team,” Roberts said. “And if you’re looking at our major-league team in the bullpen, the ability to go back to back potentially and be a neutral guy, the ability to go two or three innings to be a bridge guy, is very valuable for our ballclub.”
It could be a short-term assignment. Though he won’t be ready to start the season, Brock Stewart could be back before long. He has already started throwing bullpen sessions, mixing in breaking balls when throwing Tuesday.
The same can’t be said for Brusdar Graterol, who is throwing only on flat ground at this point.
“I just don’t see when the return to play is,” Roberts said.
Starting on IL: Graterol (shoulder), Evan Phillips (elbow), Stewart (shoulder), Bobby Miller (shoulder)