Yankees should eye possible Dodgers trade after questionable Opening Day roster move

At the moment, the New York Yankees have no room to welcome in another starting-caliber talent unless they were to conduct some serious rearranging. The 2026 roster is the 2026 roster until the front office determines changes are needed. And that won't happen until at least June.

But the Los Angeles Dodgers might have given Brian Cashman and Co. something to monitor over the coming months. To the dismay of many Dodgers fans, Hyeseong Kim was optioned to Triple-A to begin the year despite being deemed the preseason favorite to win the starting second base job.

Even casual baseball fans are a bit confused by this. Kim registered 1.7 WAR in just 170 plate appearances last year as manager Dave Roberts never fully allowed the speedy infielder to get consistent reps. This spring, Kim hit .407 with a .967 OPS in 30 plate appearances.

And so far in Triple-A, he's 7-for-14 with two RBI. Second base duties on the Dodgers' big league roster have been shared by Miguel Rojas and Alex Freeland, with Santiago Espinal stealing the other Opening Day roster spot as a utility option off the bench.

Still, though, we fail to see how Kim wasn't the preferred option, and we don't understand any long-term vision here the Dodgers might have, considering Freeland could've just as easily been optioned.

Dodgers are treating Alex Freeland and Hyeseong Kim differently, and Yankees fans are noticing

The logic, we suppose, is that Kim needs everyday reps, but ... does Freeland not? Also, Kim proved that he can handle infrequent reps with his output in 2025 as a contributing memeber on a championship team.

So, with the Yankees likely eyeing a second base vacancy after 2026 once Jazz Chisholm Jr. hits free agency and likely prices himself out of New York, why shouldn't Cashman give Andrew Friedman a call at the deadline or once the offseason commences to see what he'd want for Kim? That's assuming, of course, that Kim doesn't get the run he deserves at the MLB level in 2026.

Kim signed a three-year deal with the Dodgers before the 2025 season, and it also has two club options for 2028 and 2029. Conventional wisdom suggests the Dodgers are going to hang onto him, given the likely international revenue that comes with Kim sporting LA threads and the fact they can afford depth at his price ($4.5 million AAV) without sweating whatsoever.

But what if the Dodgers end up liking Freeland better? What if Espinal is actually an asset this year? It could change things. And the Yankees have a ton of pitching to offer, which could help LA, given the excessive injuries they've experienced on that front the last few years.

Nothing imminent. Nothing likely. Just something to monitor.