Santiago Espinal has landed another stop in the NL West, agreeing to a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, according to an announcement from the Triple-A Reno Aces on X.
For Espinal, it’s been a whirlwind 2026 season that has already taken him from the Dodgers to the Rangers and now to Arizona. He began the year on a minor league deal with Los Angeles, worked his way onto the opening day roster, and appeared in 36 games for the big league club. In that stretch, he hit .268/.276/.375 with one home run and seven RBI in 60 plate appearances.
The Dodgers cut him loose on June 18, and less than two weeks later he resurfaced with the Texas Rangers on a minor league contract on July 2. That run didn’t last long either. Espinal was released 26 days later after posting a .262/.333/.310 line with six RBI for Triple-A Round Rock.
Elsewhere around the Dodgers, the conversation keeps circling back to Kyle Tucker and a first year that has not gone smoothly. With the Dodgers set to open a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, Tucker’s home struggles are once again in the spotlight as the club waits to see whether he can rediscover the version of himself that showed up before arriving in Los Angeles.
Mookie Betts and Miguel Rojas addressed Tucker’s difficult season on the latest episode of the On Base with Mookie Betts podcast, and Rojas made clear he still believes in his teammate.
“I have all my confidence in Tucker… I am a true believer that when you feel good, you play good. When you’re going out there everyday knowing the guys have your back, it’s a good feeling… I really want him to believe that the opinions that matter are the ones that are to your left and to your right.”
In a separate development, Cox customers are finally getting access to Dodger games on SportsNet LA. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reported that, beginning Friday, subscribers in the Dodgers’ broadcast territory will be able to watch the team on their local TV home for the first time in 13 years.
SportsNet LA will be available on Channel 63 in Orange County, Channel 54 in Palos Verdes, Channel 36 in Santa Barbara and Channel 50 in Las Vegas.
In Other News...
Dodgers Prospect Is Starting To Look Like A Real Rotation Candidate
Cam Leiters return from shoulder surgery has kept moving in the right direction, and the Dodgers rewarded that progress with a promotion from Class-A Ontario to advanced Class-A Great Lakes. The second-round pick in 2025 has already put together a solid run in Ontario, where he logged a 3.09 ERA over 18 starts and has shown enough consistency to keep climbing the ladder.
Leiter also recently turned in one of his sharper outings, striking out five across three scoreless innings, the kind of brief but encouraging work that can start to separate a prospect from the pack. For a Dodgers system that always seems to have another arm in motion, his rise is worth watching because the next step will help answer how close he really is to joining the conversation as a legitimate rotation candidate. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Have A New Late-Inning Weapon Drawing Serious All-MLB Buzz
The All-MLB chatter is starting to settle into a familiar kind of debate, with the games best arms again headlining the discussion and a few rising names forcing their way into the conversation. Among the relievers drawing the most attention are Mason Miller and Louis Varland, both of whom have turned dominant late-inning work into real first- and second-team consideration as the season picture sharpens.
For Dodgers fans, it is the kind of landscape worth watching closely, because the National League race has a way of turning on exactly this sort of bullpen edge. The position-player side of the debate has its own heavy hitters, from Austin Dingler to Matt Olson and Bobby Witt Jr., but the relief mix is where the most intrigue seems to be building, with a few final spots still there for the taking. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Suddenly Have An Emmet Sheehan Roster Problem
Gavin Stone is pushing his way back into the picture after a long road back from shoulder surgery and inflammation that kept him out for the entire 2025 season. On his rehab assignment at Triple-A, the former Dodgers starter just worked three hitless innings with five strikeouts, the kind of outing that at least puts him on track for a possible return when rosters expand in early September.
For the Dodgers, that creates a roster squeeze at a time when every bullpen spot matters. Emmet Sheehan has yet to pitch since being recalled, and Stone's arrival would force the club to sort through some awkward decisions about who stays active and who gets squeezed out as the staff continues to shuffle around the final stretch of the season. [Read more 🡒]