Dodgers Designate Santiago Espinal After Reinstating Kiké Hernández

The Dodgers designated Santiago Espinal for assignment on Monday after reinstating Kiké Hernández from the 60-day injured list. santiago espinal lost his roster spot to make room for Hernández, who is set to make his season debut against the Rockies.

Kiké Hernández Returns Monday

Hernández will fill in at the hot corner for Max Muncy and bat ninth. Muncy was hit in the right wrist by Aaron Ashby on Friday, and x-rays came back negative, but he will get a third straight off day to recover.

The Dodgers brought Hernández back on a one-year, $4.5 million deal in February after he won his third World Series as a member of the club a couple of weeks before elbow surgery in mid-November. His return gives the Dodgers a familiar option while Muncy sits, and it comes after Hernández spent a large portion of 2025 playing through the elbow issue.

Santiago Espinal’s Dodgers Stay

Espinal, an infielder/outfielder, saw big league time with the Blue Jays and Reds from 2020-25 before the Dodgers selected his contract in late March. He appeared in 26 games for Los Angeles, started nine times and played first, second and third.

His line with the Dodgers was light:.220/.238/.366 with one home run in 44 plate appearances, along with a 67 wRC+. He was set to earn a $2.5 million salary.

The move sends Espinal into DFA limbo, a process that can last up to one week and includes a 48-hour waiver process. If he clears waivers and a trade does not come together, he has over five years of service time, which gives him the right to reject an outright assignment and keep the rest of his guaranteed salary.

For the Dodgers, the roster move is immediate. Hernández is back in the lineup Monday, Muncy gets another day to recover, and Espinal now waits to see whether another club claims him or whether his service time changes the end of the process.