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Dodgers Lose Former All-Star to Rangers 2 Weeks After DFA The Los Angeles Dodgers lost a utility player in free agency, two weeks after he was designated for assignment for the second time this season.
Apr 20, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Santiago Espinal hits a single in the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.
Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J.
Downing-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectThe Texas Rangers signed the former All-Star infielder to a minor league contract, allowing him to continue his climb back to the big leagues after a 36-game MLB stint with the Dodgers.
Espinal filled a valuable role for the Dodgers as a utility infielder while Mookie Betts recovered from an oblique strain, Tommy Edman rehabbed his ankle surgery and Alex Freeland and Hyeseong Kim shuffled between the majors and Triple-A.
Espinal's big league slash line was not spectacular, but he showed modest success in limited playing time .He put the ball in play.
He struck out infrequently.
He filled the utility role well.
Ultimately, Espinal was the inevitable victim of a numbers game when Betts and Edman returned to health.The versatility of Freeland, a switch-hitter who can play both middle infield positions, didn't help his case.
Espinal, 31, spent four seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, making the American League All-Star team in 2022, before he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 2024.
The Dominican native spent two seasons with the Reds and saw his stock plummet after posting a .574 OPS in 114 games last year.HeEspinal's strong spring training .378/.415/.644 in 19 Cactus League games allowed him to break camp with the Dodgers, while the injuries allowed him to keep an MLB roster spot into June.
Overall, Espinal has appeared in 614 games at the major league level, hitting .261 with 21 home runs, 167 RBIs and an OPS of .664.that befell former Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager.
It's the third separate trip to the IL for Seager in the season's first half.The Rangers are 44-43, tied for first place in a weak AL West.
He might find his way into the infield rotation on a playoff contender after all.
J.P.
Hoornstra is an On SI Contributor.A veteran of 20 years of sports coverage for daily newspapers in California, J.P.
covered MLB, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Los Angeles Angels from 2012-23 for the Southern California News Group.
His first book, The 50 Greatest Dodgers Games of All-Time, published in 2015.
In 2016, he won an Associated Press Sports Editors award for breaking news coverage.
He once recorded a keyboard solo on the same album as two of the original Doors.