The Diamondbacks signed veteran infielder Santiago Espinal to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Reno. The move was announced by the Aces. Espinal has been a free agent for the past three weeks after being released by Texas in late July.
Arizona is the third team of the season for the 2022 All-Star. Espinal had a pair of MLB stints with the Dodgers after an offseason minor league contract. He made 36 appearances with Los Angeles, starting a third of those. Espinal batted .268 but only drew one walk and had four extra-base hits in 60 trips to the plate.
The Dodgers waived Espinal once Tommy Edman returned from a season-opening injured list stint. He most of the July in Triple-A with the Rangers, hitting .262 without a home run in 11 contests. He’ll join Reno as a contact-oriented depth infielder who offers a solid glove at second and third base.
Arizona is shorthanded at both positions. Nolan Arenado missed the first two games of the Boston series this week while nursing an intercostal injury. He returned to the lineup on Wednesday as a designated hitter. More notably, there’s plenty of uncertainty about when Ketel Marte might return after his surprise placement on the restricted list.