Speaker 1: And an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talk.
Speaker 1: We're joined right now by a man that broke camp
Speaker 1: with the Dodgers and has returned and certainly is a
Speaker 1: teammate favorite. That's the one and only Santiago Espinal Santiago,
Speaker 1: thanks a lot for the time, appreciate it.
Speaker 2: Thank you guys for having me. Thank you.
Speaker 1: Okay, so we haven't talked since you came back. Can
Speaker 1: you tell us what those ten days were like for
Speaker 1: you not having a team and then deciding to re
Speaker 1: sign with the Dodgers.
Speaker 3: You know, it was I knew what was going on,
Speaker 3: and the Dodgers told me from the beginning what was
Speaker 3: going to happen and everything. So they were very upfront
Speaker 3: with me, which I really appreciate that. And you know,
Speaker 3: I was a home just waiting. I was in La
Speaker 3: because I got a house over there, and then I
Speaker 3: was just waiting for a call see where anything happened.
Speaker 3: And you know, at the end of the day, I
Speaker 3: was I decided to come back over here since I
Speaker 3: already you know, made it a family. I know everybody,
Speaker 3: they already you know, made me feel comfortable with me
Speaker 3: and my family.
Speaker 2: They treat me well, so why not stay?
Speaker 3: You know, and I especially on a on a team
Speaker 3: you know that that is winning championship, you know, where
Speaker 3: there's a lot of experience and stuff like that. So
Speaker 3: you know, it wasn't tough at all. It was you know,
Speaker 3: it was pretty easy. And uh, you know, to come
Speaker 3: back to the locker room. It just felt like I
Speaker 3: never left.
Speaker 1: That's an interesting decision to make, right you know, you
Speaker 1: have a great team, a team that has a chance
Speaker 1: to three p to do something historic. How do you
Speaker 1: balance that with your own personal wants of wanting to
Speaker 1: play more rather than being a guy that comes off
Speaker 1: the bench for the best team in baseball?
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know it just knowing the what's my job is?
Speaker 3: You know, and in spring training that already told me
Speaker 3: what my job is going to be, whether I make
Speaker 3: the team, you know, coming over here, I know I
Speaker 3: wasn't going to be playing a lot or no, I
Speaker 3: wasn't going to be playing every day and stuff like that.
Speaker 2: But my job is to get already prepared. It just
Speaker 2: for any.
Speaker 3: Situation that they need me. I'm there, you know, and
Speaker 3: I've been taking advantage of the situations that I've been playing,
Speaker 3: and you know, just like I told people, you know,
Speaker 3: how can I add a little bit to a winning
Speaker 3: championship team?
Speaker 2: You know, how can I add? How can I? You know?
Speaker 3: And I feel like my defense, a little bit of offense
Speaker 3: and stuff like that, it's something that adds to a
Speaker 3: to a winning championship team. You know, maybe you know,
Speaker 3: moving the guy over, you know, doing the doing the
Speaker 3: little things right.
Speaker 1: Hey, Santiago Espinal and Mookie bet sat back to back
Speaker 1: home runs this year, So don't short change yourself.
Speaker 2: No no, no, no, no, no, no no. You know, we
Speaker 2: just got there, just working, just working.
Speaker 1: Hey, Santiago Espinal, it seems like there was never a
Speaker 1: doubt that you were coming back. Am I gathering that correctly?
Speaker 1: Even if ki K stayed healthy, you were coming back
Speaker 1: some way somehow.
Speaker 2: Uh, you know, I was. I was thinking about for sure.
Speaker 3: I was looking for an opportunity where you know, obviously
Speaker 3: I wanted to play more and stuff like that. But
Speaker 3: you know, the Dodgers really call me right away when
Speaker 3: Kiki stuff happened.
Speaker 2: They told me the doors are open. We get it.
Speaker 3: We understand that you have probably other opportunity and stuff
Speaker 3: like that, you know, but the doors are open for
Speaker 3: you to come back over here if you want to.
Speaker 2: And you know, it was an easy decision for me.
Speaker 3: Also, my wife is pregnant, so we're expecting the next month,
Speaker 3: so we were already in LA. We were already making
Speaker 3: plans for the baby to be in La too as well,
Speaker 3: So you know, it was an easy decision for me
Speaker 3: to stay here too.
Speaker 1: Well, congratulations to you and your wife. Are you trying
Speaker 1: to make it a surprise or do you know if
Speaker 1: it's a boy or girl.
Speaker 2: It's a girl. It's a girl.
Speaker 1: That's great, a girl.
Speaker 2: Dad, Yeah, go to that. It's going to be amazing.
Speaker 1: Yes, it will be. Santiago Espinal is our guest. So
Speaker 1: you're back in LA. You're back on this team that
Speaker 1: has a chance to do something historic. But you guys
Speaker 1: have to navigate the regular season. How are you guys
Speaker 1: treating each game like it matters, but also understanding there's
Speaker 1: a bigger goal in mind.
Speaker 3: Of course, I feel like we can focus was going
Speaker 3: to happen in the future. You know, I think we
Speaker 3: were very press into what we have right now, and
Speaker 3: you know that's winning games. You know, today's a new
Speaker 3: opportunity to win another game and then go back to
Speaker 3: home and then you know, win another series, so you know,
Speaker 3: but we can't focus on what happens in the future.
Speaker 3: But right now we just focus in the present and
Speaker 3: that that is today's game. Today we got to go
Speaker 3: out there and compete.
Speaker 2: All right.
Speaker 1: Thank you for the time. You're fitting in perfectly. That's
Speaker 1: what all the guys say. You got to be where
Speaker 1: your feet are, Yes, sir, you say, that's what it is,
Speaker 1: Santiago Espinal. Everybody's happy that you found your way back
Speaker 1: to the Dodgers. Thanks for the time and keep it going.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Thank you so much.