With Kiké Hernández returning Monday after two months on the injured list, the Dodgers expected the move to end Santiago Espinal’s time on the roster. But Hyeseong Kim’s brutal stretch—six hits in his last 40 at-bats with 16 strikeouts and an OPS of .377—has s
The Dodgers’ roster picture was supposed to get simpler on Monday.
Kiké Hernández is set to return after spending the first two months of the season on the injured list while recovering from offseason elbow surgery. From the start, Hernández’s eventual comeback was treated as the clear signal that Santiago Espinal’s run on the active roster was nearing its end.
The logic looked tidy: Hernández and Espinal are both right-handed bats and both can play third base. Designating Espinal for assignment would clear a 40-man roster spot, and the roster swap would basically match the timing and roles everyone expected.
Then Hyeseong Kim started to unravel.
Kim, who stayed with the Dodgers when Mookie Betts came off the injured list and when Alex Freeland was optioned to Triple-A, has struggled mightily since winning the job. In his current stretch, he has six hits in his last 40 at-bats. He has also struck out 16 times, and his OPS sits at .377.
It’s the kind of slump that doesn’t just show up in numbers—it forces a manager to watch every at-bat differently, especially when a player is trying to earn consistent roster value.
Manager Dave Roberts described exactly what he’s been seeing from Kim. “He’s back to chasing,” Roberts said. “He’s passive when he shouldn’t be, and then he’s getting into bad counts. I don’t know if it’s a mechanical thing. But he’s been grinding the last — quite honestly, the last month it’s been kind of tough for him.”.
Roberts added, “He’s preparing and competing,” but said the problem is simpler than it sounds: “right now, it’s just not working.”
And crucially for the roster churn ahead, Roberts said Kim “will be a part of” the conversation about who Hernández replaces.
That’s what changes the tone inside the organization. It’s no longer just Hernández returning and Espinal making room. Now, the Dodgers may have to weigh whether Kim’s defense and speed can offset his offensive struggles—or whether this is the moment to recalibrate.
There’s another pressure point waiting behind the decision: Max Muncy.
Roberts said there’s a chance Muncy gets placed on the injured list as he recovers after being hit by a pitch on the wirst. “Obviously we’ve got to make a decision with Kiké. I’m hopeful Max is not going to be on the IL,” Roberts said. “You’ve got one spot. and you’re taking Espinal and seeing the value he brings to our ball club and the coverage. and with Kim being an infielder. That’s kind of where we’re at, in all honesty. ‘Love both those guys, but we’ve got to have a tough conversation.’”.
The reason Espinal still feels like the more obvious choice is built into the roster math and the team’s own evaluations. The Dodgers value Kim’s defense and speed. along with his left-handed bat. but having both Hernández and Espinal on the active roster also looks redundant because both are right-handed bats who can play third base.
Yet the Dodgers may also be thinking beyond Monday.
One path is to keep Espinal in the organization if they send Kim back to Triple-A to try to get him back on track. That matters because Espinal can’t be optioned. If the Dodgers decide to move him and then can’t send him down the normal way, they risk losing him on waivers.
So the pressure isn’t only about who’s playing—it’s about who the Dodgers can safely keep.
If the Dodgers go with Kim, or if Muncy’s injury leads to a move to the injured list, they’ll need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. That part doesn’t figure to be a major obstacle. The Dodgers could clear room by moving Blake Snell or Brock Stewart to the 60-day injured list.
Neither Snell nor Stewart are expected to be activated off the injured list before their 60 days would be up.
For now, the Dodgers are back to where every tight roster is forced to land when performance wobbles: with one spot to make count, and multiple ways for a move to go right—or to cost them.
Monday’s Hernández return was supposed to settle the matter.
But with Kim’s offensive slide suddenly unavoidable—and Roberts saying Kim will factor into the replacement conversation—the roster decision no longer feels automatic. It feels fragile.
Los Angeles Dodgers Hyeseong Kim Kiké Hernández Santiago Espinal Dave Roberts 40-man roster Triple-A Mookie Betts Alex Freeland Max Muncy Blake Snell Brock Stewart injured list