The Los Angeles Dodgers will enter the 2026 MLB season looking to join an exclusive club of teams to have won three straight World Series titles. The New York Yankees accomplished that feat three times (1936-1939, 1949-1953, 1998-2000), and the Oakland Athletics did it from 1972 to 1974. The Dodgers' free-agent signing of Kyle Tucker pushed Los Angeles to the prohibitive favorites to repeat.
But every season is different. Bullpens crumble. Starting rotations underperform. And injuries can strike at any moment.
The Dodgers' infield has already been bitten by the injury bug. Infielder Tommy Edman underwent offseason ankle surgery. While Opening Day remains a possibility for his return, Los Angeles is unlikely to rush the veteran back.
That sentiment was reinforced on Friday when the team signed Santiago Espinal, per The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya.
Espinal is entering the seventh year of his professional career. He spent the first four seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, earning an All-Star nomination in 2022. That season, he played 135 games, hitting .267 with seven home runs, 51 RBIs, and 51 runs scored. But it is his defensive prowess that earned him the prestige.
He then spent the last two seasons with the Cincinnati Reds as a utility infielder. He can also play in the outfield if needed.
Those types of players always prove useful come October.
Coincidentally, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts played a similar role late in his playing career. Roberts helped the Boston Red Sox snap the Curse of the Bambino in 2004 as a utility man.
But this will hardly provide competition for the starting job anywhere on the field. When Edman is healthy, he will return to the starting lineup.
