For Dave Roberts, the roster crisis facing the Dodgers could be a good problem to have.
But the situation is already a problem nonetheless.
The good news for the club: Mookie Betts is scheduled to be activated from the injured list on Monday, making his long-awaited return from an oblique strain that sidelined him for more than a month.
However, what that means is that someone will have to be taken off the active roster in a corresponding move.
On the eve of this decision on Sunday, there was no easy answer yet.
“It’s a potentially difficult conversation,” Roberts admitted, saying the club had not yet decided on his selection. “I can make a case for all the people we’re considering.”
The three candidates for the squad have been clear for some time: players Alex Freeland, Heesung Kim and Santiago Espinal.
However, each of them still provides value to the club.
A big caveat to start with: Espinal was the worst performer of the three, batting just .188 in very limited playing time (his 32 hits were the fewest among members of the Opening Day roster). But the former All-Star is also the only one of the three who doesn’t have any minor league options, meaning he would have to be designated for assignment and be subject to waivers if he is demoted from the active roster.
On the other hand, Keim and Freeland could simply be optioned to the Triple-A level, which would allow the Dodgers to maintain more organizational depth.
Another factor: When Bates returns, playing time will be limited for whoever stays with the club.
The Dodgers will still have a platoon slot at second base — at least until Tommy Edman returns to the IL after missing the start of the year recovering from ankle surgery (he’s still at least several weeks away, and was moved to the 60-day IL this week).
But as Keim and Freeland have started regularly over the past month, getting valuable at-bats as the young players continue to develop offensively, one or both could see a severe cut in their at-bats.
Thus, the Dodgers could opt to keep Espinal — a veteran player who won’t be affected by minimal opportunities — and send one of Kim or Freeland back to Triple-A to continue playing every day.
It would be easier to do so, of course, if both players weren’t contributing the way they have been recently.
Kim, who was sent down to Triple-A the last time the Dodgers had to make a similar decision at the end of spring training, entered Sunday hitting over .300 since being called up again when Betts was first injured. He also fulfilled the primary target the Dodgers set for him after his up-and-down rookie season in 2025, lowering his strikeout rate from 30.6% last year to 18.3% this year.
“I think he did a much better job of controlling the strike zone,” Roberts said. “He has the ability to put the bat on the ball, get hits, steal bases, and play good defense. I think he did all of that.”
However, Freeland has shown a similar skill set as he heats up at the plate in recent weeks.
After hitting just .190 over his first 14 games this year, the former third-round pick entered Sunday with a .288 average over his last 18 games, leading to his own improvements in plate discipline and quality of contact.
Also of note: When the Dodgers selected Freeland over Kim at the bottom spot on the Opening Day roster, Roberts said he had “nothing left for him.” [Freeland] to stick” at the Triple-A level, where he spent most of the previous two campaigns.
Before Sunday’s game — in which Kim and Freeland again displayed a bit of separation, going 0-for-7 with five strikeouts on a day in which the entire offense struggled — Roberts said there might be enough playing time to ensure both are retained when Betts returns. However, read between the lines of his comments, and it certainly does not appear that the organization sees this scenario as ideal.
But again, none of the three players in question deserve to be left off the list.
One of them has to be, anyway.
“Obviously we have a difficult decision to make,” Roberts said. “All options available, perhaps for a corresponding move, these guys have done a fantastic job and served a very good purpose for our club.”