Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts is making big strides in his return from an oblique injury.

Betts, who only played the first eight games of the season before hurting his right oblique, is set to begin his rehab assignment in two minor league games this week.

Betts will suit up for the Oklahoma City Comets, the Dodgers’ Triple-A team, this Friday and Saturday, the team said on social media.

How has Mookie Betts’ 2026 season been?

Betts hurt himself at the beginning of last month, and in the meantime, he suffered at least one setback in his recovery.

Before that, though, he was off to a slow start on the year.

He’s hitting .179/.281/.429 with two home runs and seven RBIs, figures that are far below the future Hall of Famer’s capabilities as a former AL MVP.

He has a new chance to rewrite the history of 2026 once he makes it back to the Dodgers, though his return will create a roster crunch for the team.

Who will be moved to make way for Mookie Betts?

Hyeseong Kim was called up to the majors after Betts was hurt, but he’s been playing well enough that he stands a chance to stick around.

So who will go?

It’s possible it’s Alex Freeland, the other Dodger who has been identified as being in danger of losing his spot.

Or it could be a third Dodger: Santiago Espinal.

He drew a lot of criticism from Dodgers fans after Tuesday’s disastrous strikeout in the ninth inning, and he’s been predicted to be designated for assignment for weeks now.

In fact, Espinal hasn’t really even been in the discussion to stay.

That makes sense, given that he’s hitting .192/.269/.462 with just two RBIs this season.

“They’re going to DFA Santiago Espinal,” Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain explained. “I mean, there’s just no spot on the roster for him. And he could find a spot with another team, another opportunity somewhere else. But it’s baseball. It’s a tough business, man. It really only [has] 700 of these jobs in the world, man. It’s not an easy sport to make a living at.”

Do you think it will be Espinal who loses his spot to Betts, or will it be someone else?

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ 2-1 loss to the Houston Astros was frustrating for several reasons.

Shohei Ohtani was on the mound, and in his first seven-inning outing since Tommy John surgery, he gave up two solo home runs but was otherwise stellar.

The problem was that the Dodgers couldn’t knock in runners, an issue that’s persisted for the past several weeks.

But one at-bat in particular especially irritated Dodgers fans.

In the ninth inning, the Dodgers had one out and the tying run on first base.

Infielder Santiago Espinal, who’d been the hero of spring training, was put in as a pinch hitter, only for him to strike out on three straight pitches.

Why Santiago Espinal’s strikeout was so bad

It’s impossible to avoid all strikeouts in baseball, but some are better than others.

This one, as sportswriter and Dodgers fan Blake Harris described it, was “legitimately one of the worst at bats I have ever seen.”

Espinal first swung at a sweeper low and inside, then failed to challenge a 90.6 mph fastball that was called a strike but was above the strike zone by a significant margin.

“Really glad Santiago Espinal went up there with 2 challenges in his back pocket and didn’t challenge pitch No. 2,” Harris said sarcastically.

With two strikes, Espinal then swung at a 91.4 mph fastball that was even higher than the second pitch, appearing to be near his eye level.

Fans let Santiago Espinal have it after the strikeout

Between the high leverage of the at-bat and the poor result, fans expressed a lot of anger toward Espinal.

“I’ll lose my mind if Kim goes down when Mookie comes back and Espinal stays,” wrote @0331KSR.

“That was a terrible AB,” wrote @tlclisahickman. “He maybe DFA soon when Mookie comes back.”

“Worst at bat I have ever seen in my life,” wrote @carlosadecastro.

As referenced in those comments, the timing couldn’t have been worse for Espinal.

With shortstop Mookie Betts nearing his return from injury, there will be one less spot on the roster, and Espinal hasn’t really even been in the discussion to stay.

That makes sense, given that he’s hitting .192/.269/.462 with just two RBIs this season.

“They’re going to DFA Santiago Espinal,” Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain explained. “I mean, there’s just no spot on the roster for him. And he could find a spot with another team, another opportunity somewhere else. But it’s baseball. It’s a tough business, man. It really only [has] 700 of these jobs in the world, man. It’s not an easy sport to make a living at.”