LOS ANGELES -- When the Dodgers made moves to account for the loss of starting left fielder Teoscar Hernández to a left hamstring strain, they remade their bench as well.
L.A. made a flurry of roster moves ahead of Friday night's game against the Phillies, recalling outfielder/first baseman Ryan Ward from Triple-A Oklahoma City as the corresponding move to place Hernández on the 10-day injured list. The team also optioned infielder Hyeseong Kim to Triple-A, re-signed utility man Santiago Espinal and transferred left-hander Blake Snell to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
Kim's place on the Dodgers' roster had become tenuous over the past week. He was set to lose playing time to second baseman Alex Freeland, who was recalled when Kiké Hernández was placed on the 10-day IL with a left oblique strain on Wednesday. Rather than provide Kim with limited opportunities to work through issues with his swing, L.A. decided that he would be better served playing every day in Oklahoma City.
"Get his swing back to where it was when he first came up," general manager Brandon Gomes said. "There's some stuff in his setup, and it started to drift to a little bit more, like what we saw last year. Thought when he first came up, he'd done some really good work with our hitting guys down in Triple-A. So our guys are going to get together as a group and put together a plan and … hopefully get him back to where he was earlier in the season."
Similar to last year -- his first season in the Majors -- Kim started strong but faded as time went on. He hit .314 with an .800 OPS through his first 26 games, then hit .174 with a .424 OPS over his next 17 games. His early performance was enough to survive two roster crunches: when Mookie Betts returned from a right oblique strain on May 11 (Freeland was optioned), and when Kiké Hernández made a short-lived return from left elbow surgery on Monday (Espinal was designated for assignment).
But the loss of both Hernándezes to the IL and the corresponding moves meant the writing was on the wall. When Freeland was recalled, manager Dave Roberts said he would likely see the bulk of the playing time against right-handed pitching at second base, a role that Kim had previously filled. Recalling Ward made the bench heavy on left-handed hitters. And when Kiké Hernández was sidelined again, the Dodgers lost the only true infielder/outfielder they had on the roster.
Espinal brings another right-handed bat to the bench, and he can play all over the infield as well as the corner outfield spots. He is also a true 26th man, rather than a player the Dodgers are trying to continue developing. After being designated for assignment, he cleared waivers and elected free agency before re-signing with L.A.
"With a star-studded team, you also have to have guys that know their roles," Roberts said. "Espy is a guy that is good on the team, understands his value, he's ready when called upon, I trust him defensively and I like him vs. left-handed pitching. Just having him back is pretty seamless because we lost him for a couple days. It's like no time has passed. It's good to have him back."
Snell's transfer to the 60-day IL came as little surprise, as he is rehabbing from surgery to remove loose bodies from his left elbow. He had the NanoNeedle Scope procedure like Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, who had already progressed to throwing a simulated game about three weeks after surgery. But unlike Skubal, Snell is not an impending free agent for a team that's fading in the standings, so he and the Dodgers do not have the same incentive for him to return as quickly as possible. The top priority for L.A. is having Snell at his best in the postseason.