Dodgers designate Darwin Barney, promote Hector Olivera to triple-A

Darwin Barney, we barely knew you, which was apparently just fine with the Dodgers’ new management team.

On Friday, the Dodgers designated Barney, a former Gold Glove second baseman, for assignment. See ya, it’s been swell, or at least brief.

The Dodgers designated Barney to make room on the 40-man roster for infielder Ronald Torreyes, a minor league infielder they picked up Friday from Toronto for the old cash considerations and then optioned to double-A Tulsa.

Of course, they picked up right-hander Mike Bolsinger for cash in the off-season from Arizona, and that is working out so well Diamondbacks management is considering early hibernation.

This one is a tad more difficult to understand, given that Torreyes has been mostly unimpressive in the minors, and in two minor-league stops this season has a combined slash line of .175/.208/.200.

This is his sixth organization, and he’s only 22, which doesn’t appear to be a good sign. He did, however, hit .298 last season for Houston when they had their triple-A team in Oklahoma City, and he’s hit .299 for his six seasons in the minors since signing out of Venezuela. The Dodgers have to believe there is still more there.

He has primarily played second, but has also seen time at third, short and the outfield, so he meets that potential super utility role.

And he is seven years younger than Barney, so there’s that. Barney came to the Dodgers at the trade deadline last season and went .303/.467/.424 for them, but in only 45 plate appearances. He made the opening-day roster this season, appeared in two games and then was sent to triple-A Oklahoma City.

Barney, who won his Gold Glove for the Cubs in 2012, was hitting only .214 with Oklahoma City with five doubles and six RBI in 32 games. He has been hampered by a sore hamstring.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers are moving forward with Hector Olivera, advancing him from double-A to triple-A on Friday.

Olivera, the Cuban infielder signed last month for $62.5 million, played in only six games for Tulsa, with a .318/.400/.455 slash line and three errors. He had one home run and six RBI.

The Dodgers have not set a specific timetable for Olivera’s arrival to the majors, though they anticipate it to be this season. Which seems a reasonable expectation for the $62.5 million dropped on a 30-year-old infielder.