One camp battle is open for the Dodgers this week. Manager Dave Roberts confirmed that Tommy Edman will start the season on the injured list as he works back from right ankle surgery. That leaves the second base job for the season opener up for grabs.
As Jack Harris of the California Post writes, that would make a lot of sense Hyeseong Kim again Alex Freeland. Kim played 71 games as an MLB rookie, hitting .280/.314/.385 but striking out in over 30% of his plate appearances. He was extremely aggressive and rarely hit the ball hard. Kim’s profile in the KBO is built around his speed and center field defense, and his early MLB results match that.
The 24-year-old Freeland is one of the best players in the organization. He struggled in a 29-game debut, hitting .190 while striking out 35 times in 97 trips to the plate. Freeland had a solid year with Triple-A Oklahoma City, however, hitting .263/.384/.451 with 16 home runs and 18 stolen bases. He walked at a whopping 16.3% clip while striking out 22% of the time in the minors.
Kim is a left-handed hitter, while Freeland is a switch hitter who was better on the left side last season. Or it could work for a second base team with good swing Miguel Rojaswho they project as their leading utility hitter. Kim has a leg up from a versatility standpoint, as his combination speed also allows him to back up Andy Pages in the middle field. Freeland can move around in the infield but is not hot and has no outfield experience. Both players have minor league options remaining and could be sent to OKC without waivers. That can be very obvious if a non-registrant wants to Santiago Espinal or Ryan Fitzgerald he is playing his way to a bench job with a strong spring.
Edman’s injury also takes away from early season depth. He would be in line for a top job when he was at full strength. Instead, Kim can play that role, especially late in games for defensive purposes. That will allow the pages to slide into the left field, there Teoscar Hernández will take up most of the playing time. Hernández changes corners after Kyle Tucker to sign.
It wasn’t a lock for the two-time All-Star to stay on the roster all winter. Hernández has come up with some trade rumors, with the Royals among the teams known to be interested. President of baseball Andrew Friedman acknowledged that the front office took calls about his availability but downplayed their desire to trade him at any time (link via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic).
“Teams call and ask about different guys all the time,” Friedman said. “Some who get out of there, some don’t make it. But we really value the chemistry in the clubhouse. It’s not something we don’t say anything about. I don’t blame the teams for asking. … But it’s clear that the importance he has, not only on the field but also in the clubhouse, is not lost on us.”
There is no indication that any discussions have taken place in Spring Training. Hernández remains a dominant power threat coming off a 25-homer season, but some of his production has declined. He hit .247 with a career-worst .284 fielding percentage in 546 plate appearances. Hernández also had a strong second straight year defensively. The 33-year-old player said today that he has never felt at full strength after straining his groin in mid-May.
That only required two weeks on the injured list but it certainly would have affected his movement after his return. That being said, Hernández has never been a good defender and is unlikely to improve much into his 30s. He’s not a roster fit for a team that can’t give playing time to a designated hitter, but he’s signed for two more years and $33MM (including a buyout option in 2028). Even if most of those salaries are deferred, that’s more than he could have earned as a free agent this offseason. The Dodgers have no need to force a salary dump and were unlikely to receive much value in return for the trade.
