With Tommy Edman officially slated to begin the 2026 season on the injured list, the Opening Day second base job is open for competition. And it’s more of a competition than it might appear to be at first glance.
I wrote about the Dodgers’ potential “problem” at second base about six weeks ago, but that was with an eye on the Dodgers being interested in Bo Bichette. Still, the depth chart is looking a bit thin on quality, even when you take out Edman — who has been pedestrian with the Dodgers outside of a strong 2024 postseason.
The Dodgers had signed Andy Ibanez, who was set to be insurance for this exact scenario — or so we thought. He has since been designated for assignment and claimed by the Athletics. Outside of him, here is who is competing for the job:
*Denotes non-roster invitee.
The pickins, they are slim. When I wrote about the NRIs, I noted Fitzgerald as being the most likely to break camp with the team, and Edman’s unsure status was a key reason for that.
Ryan Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald, 32, was claimed off waivers from the Twins before being outrighted to Triple-A. He had a strange stat line in 24 games (53 plate appearances) with the Twins in 2025: .196/.302/.457, 110 wRC+. That was mostly thanks to him running into four home runs in those 24 games. The lefty swinger did hit .277/.367/.469 in 59 games with Triple-A St. Paul. In 2024, he hit .244/.336/.418 with Triple-A Omaha (Royals), so the ability to put the bat on the ball seems to be there, on some level. He saw some improvement in exit velocity in the minors from ’24 to ’25, going from 87.2 MPH and a 27.1 HardHit% to 88.9 MPH and 37 HardHit%. In his brief MLB debut, those numbers were 89.1 MPH and 34.2%. He also logged a max exit velo of 110.1 MPH — which would have tied Will Smith for 9th-best on the Dodgers in 2025.
Defensively, Fitzgerald has 820 1/3 minor-league innings a the pivot. It isn’t his primary position (3,183 innings at shortstop, 1,149 2/3 innings at third base), but he has enough experience at second that it shouldn’t be an issue.
Alex Freeland
Freeland, 24, is the most appealing of the four options, as he’s one of the Dodgers’ top prospects — even if the shine came off a bit after an MLB debut that saw him hit .190/.292/.310 with a 73 wRC+. He also posted an alarming 36.1 K%, after running a 21.9 K% with Triple-A Oklahoma City. On the plus side, the switch-hitter did have a 90.7 MPH average exit velocity in the majors, which put him ahead of Dodgers like Enrique Hernandez (90.3), Teoscar Hernandez (90.2) and Michael Conforto (89.9). What got him into trouble at the MLB level — aside from the strikeouts — was his average launch angle. It increased by eight degrees (from 12.4 degrees to 20.7 degrees) in his MLB debut, leading to some less-than-ideal batted ball data when comparing Triple-A and the majors.
Granted, it was a small sample size of 97 plate appearances, but it raised a few eyebrows (in the wrong way).
On defense, Freeland played second- and third base in his MLB debut, but played mostly shortstop (2,610 2/3 innings) in the minors. He always garnered praise for his defense and arm strength in the minors, so that translating to second base should do well.
Hyeseong Kim
Kim, 27, was a somewhat surprising signing last offseason and showed some glimpses in his rookie season. However, it wasn’t sustainable. He hit .280/.314/.385 with a 95 wRC+. Not bad on the surface, but when you factor in a 4.1 BB% and a 30.6 K% in 170 plate appearances and, well, that’s cause for concern. He also had just an average exit velo of 86 MPH and a max of 105.4 MPH. His .221 xBA tells more of a story than his .280 mark.
*Arbitrary endpoints alert*
He was hitting .403/.439/.581 through June 10 (66 plate appearances). After that, he hit .202/.233/.263 and was reduced to pinch-running and defensive replacement duties late in the season and in the postseason. He had a few moments, but the bat still needs work — even if he were to win the job in a platoon role.
Defensively, he’s probably the best of the four (no disrespect to Rojas). He has the range and hands to more than handle second base duties. It’s also his primary position, which gives him a slight edge. He’s also a plus-base runner — something the other three cannot claim.
Miguel Rojas
I could just post video from Rojas’ ninth inning of Game 7 and call it a day. So I will.
MIGUEL ROJAS WITH THE BIGGEST SWING OF HIS LIFE 💥
GAME 7 IS TIED IN TORONTO pic.twitter.com/tDwUGzBrVq
— MLB (@MLB) November 2, 2025
Top Plays of 2025: No. 19
Game 7, bottom of the 9th, tie game, bases loaded.
Miguel Rojas makes a World Series-saving play at the plate! pic.twitter.com/uoATbksmKj
— MLB (@MLB) November 30, 2025
But in the spirit of this article, let’s take a look at the numbers.
Rojas, 37, is entering the final year of his MLB career. He has never been known for his bat. Since the Dodgers reacquired him before the 2023 season, he has hit .259/.313/.385 — about in line with his career numbers through the 2022 season: .260/.314/.358. However, the last two seasons for the Dodgers have been two of the best of Rojas’ career. He has a .273/.328/.404 batting line with a 105 wRC+ while playing strong defense all over the infield. And even before last year’s World Series, we all know about Rojas’ prowess with the glove.
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World Series heroics aside, Rojas’ best role is as the right-side platoon at second base, as he posted an .879 OPS against southpaws last season. If one of the left-handed swinging guys ahead of him could be anywhere close to MLB average with the bat (defense isn’t really a concern), that could be the best-case scenario for the Dodgers. Then again, they also don’t want to overexpose a guy closer to 40 years old than 35, so maybe some sort of three-headed monster situation at second base could be best. Of course, all four of them won’t make the roster. Rojas is the only lock, as Freeland and Kim have options and Fitzgerald isn’t on the 40-man roster.
That’s something that will be taken into account for the Dodgers. If Fitzgerald breaks camp with the team, they could have to expose him to the waiver wire when Edman returns. The only ways that doesn’t happen is if he shows out with the bat and Freeland and Kim struggle so much that it’s best for them to remain in Triple-A rather than risk losing Fitzgerald on waivers. If Edman makes his way to the 60-day IL at some point before he returns, rostering Fitzgerald will be a bit easier.
The Dodgers have coverage at the position. It remains to be seen how that coverage holds up and compares to Edman. As stated, Edman hasn’t exactly been a world-beater as a Dodger, but his hefty contract will allow him to claim most of the playing time at second base upon his return. It’ll be interesting to see if any of the other three (two, really — Freeland and Kim) make a good enough case to be a key contributor for the Dodgers early in the season.
