The Los Angeles Dodgers announced on Monday they have optioned right-handed pitchers Dennis Santana and Brock Stewart, catcher Keibert Ruiz and infielder Edwin Rios, and reassigned catcher Will Smith and outfielders Kyle Garlick and Shane Peterson to Minor League camp. They now have 38 players in camp, including 14 infielders/outfielders, 21 pitchers and three catchers.
Santana is one of the organization’s top prospects who made his MLB debut last season and is expected to be up again at some point in 2019. He struggled a bit this spring though, giving up four hits and five runs in 5.2 innings (7.94 ERA) across three Cactus League appearances. He struck out nine and walked four.
Stewart is no stranger to bouncing back and forth between the Major and Minor Leagues, doing so almost a dozen times in 2018. He has one option year left though, so that will likely be the case again in 2019.
In two spring games, Stewart allowed three hits and a run in three innings, good for a 3.00 ERA, while striking out one and walking three.
Ruiz is one of the top catching prospects in the Dodgers organization, but manager Dave Roberts recently said that he does not expect him to make his MLB debut in 2019. He played in nine games this spring and hit .188/.278/.188 with two RBI.
Rios batted .182/.250/.455 with a home run and three doubles in nine games. He plays both first and third base and will likely be seen at the big league level at some point in 2019.
Smith is the only of the bunch that is not on the 40-man roster, but he is still very highly-regarded in the organization. The catcher struggled to the tune of a .071/.176/.071 slashline in nine Cactus League games.
Garlick and Peterson were both Minor League signings that had solid showings this spring. Garlick hit .267/.389/.533 with two doubles and a triple in 10 games while Peterson slashed .286/.286/.714 with a home run in four games.
