Dodgers Designate Veteran Infielder For Assignment to Make Room for Mookie Betts

The Dodgers’ 26-man roster was facing a known crunch Monday, when Mookie Betts was scheduled to rejoin the team in Milwaukee for its series opener against the Brewers.

The resulting roster casualty was a surprise.

Amed Rosario, whom the Dodgers acquired July 29 from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for minor league pitcher Michael Flynn, was designated for assignment.

Rosario, 28, has seen a resurgence at the plate this season. In 81 games with the Dodgers and Rays, he’s hitting .305 with a .331 on-base percentage and .415 slugging percentage. His 113 OPS+ would be his highest over a full season in a career that began in 2017, and his .746 OPS would be his highest since 2019.

Rosario is the kind of versatile fielder the front office led by president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman loves. He’s seen time at second base, third base and shortstop this season. In theory, those would be positions of need with Betts heading back to right field for the remainder of this season .

However, the Dodgers didn’t have many choices. Kiké Hernandez has been swinging an even hotter bat of late (.278/.342/.444 slash line since the All-Star break) and offers even more positional versatility.

Recent deadline acquisition Kevin Kiermaier (1 for 16 in six games) hasn’t been swinging well since he was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays for long reliever Ryan Yarbrough. But he is perhaps the only above-average center fielder on the roster, and the Dodgers weren’t ready to part with him — at least not with Tommy Edman still on the injured list.

Manager Dave Roberts said Edman will be the team’s everyday center fielder upon his return.

Assuming the rest of the Dodgers’ position player contingent was healthy, that effectively left two players on the potential chopping block: Rosario and shortstop Nick Ahmed.

Ahmed, 34, is a two-time Gold Glove award winner at shortstop who has appeared in 14 of the 16 games the Dodgers have played since he was signed as a free agent on July 24, starting 12. Ahmed cost the Dodgers virtually nothing to sign — he was designated for assignment and released two weeks earlier by the San Francisco Giants.

Ahmed isn’t strong with the bat; he’s slashing .268/.286/.341 since he was acquired. His strikeout rate (28.6 percent) and walk rate (2.4 percent) suggest his plate discipline isn’t as strong as Rosario’s, and his .357 batting average on balls in play suggest his batting average is perhaps a bit inflated by batted-ball luck.

Today’s transaction suggests the Dodgers value Ahmed’s defense at shortstop more than Rosario’s versatility. For now at least, his roster spot is safe.

The Dodgers are expected to activate Edman and Max Muncy this week, however. Don’t be surprised if Ahmed (and Kiermaier) finds his name on the chopping block.

Photo Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

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