The Los Angeles Dodgers designated Billy McKinney and Zach Reks for assignment as corresponding moves to create room for Jacob Amaya, Michael Grove, Eddys Leonard, James Outman and Jorbit Vivas on their 40-man roster.
L.A. did such to protect against the aforementioned Minor Leagues from potentially being selected in the 2021 Rule 5 Draft that’s scheduled to be held next month.
McKinney was acquired from the New York Mets in exchange for Minor League outfielder Carlos Rincon in July. McKinney struggled to hit with the Mets and that carried over to his time with the Dodgers.
However, manager Dave Roberts continued to rave about his quality of at-bat and defense in the outfield. McKinney’s year appeared to come to an end Sept. 10 when he was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left hip impingement.
Despite not appearing in a regular season game after his IL stint began, McKinney was on the Dodgers’ postseason roster for both the Wild Card Game and National League Division Series.
He logged just one at-bat over a combined three games against the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants.
A rash of injuries led to Reks being among the organization’s Minor Leaguers who made his MLB debut this year. At the time of getting recalled in June, Reks had reached safely in 30 of 31 starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City.
He ranked in the top four of the Triple-A West in doubles (14), runs scored (32) and on-base percentage (.445). However, Reks was unable to find much traction in the batter’s box at the Major League level.
Albeit in minimal opportunities, he went hitless and had seven strikeouts in 10 at-bats over six games with L.A.
The Dodgers selected out the University of Kentucky in the 10th round of the 2017 MLB Draft.
Will Dodgers keep McKinney or Reks?
It’s possible McKinney and Reks will remain part of the Dodgers organization if they clear waivers. Neither would be in position to decline an outright assignment to the Minor Leagues if that becomes the case.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
