The Dodgers were facing a “tough” roster decision with Mookie Betts set to come off the injured list.

Alex Freeland wound up getting the short end of the stick.

To make room for Betts on the roster, Freeland was optioned to triple-A Oklahoma City, as the California Post first reported.

He went down after hitting .235 with a .646 OPS in 33 games to begin the season.

“It was hard,” manager Dave Roberts said of sending down Freeland. “It was a tough one.”

Freeland was one of three players who seemed in danger of being demoted, along with fellow infielders Hyeseong Kim and Santiago Espinal.

Espinal is hitting only .188 this year, but doesn’t have any minor-league options remaining, meaning he would have had to be designated for assignment –– and subjected to waivers –– if he were removed from the club’s active roster. Also, as a veteran player looking to extend his career, he fits better as the last man on the bench, and the limited playing time that comes with it.

Thus, the choice really came down to Freeland and Kim, who was batting .289 since being called up from triple-A when Betts first got hurt.

“I think what it came down to is, Hyeseong’s performed better,” Roberts said. “Alex did everything that we asked as far as playing defense and being a pro, learning and taking good at-bats. The last 10 days has been really good as far as getting on base. But at that point we just felt that giving Hyeseong some runway because of the way he’s performed over the time he’s been here. We felt that was fair.”

Freeland, a switch-hitting former third-round draft pick, has struggled to find consistent success at the major-league level since making his debut midway through last season.

He hit .190 in 29 games last year, and finished the campaign back in triple-A after being demoted in early September. He started this year batting .190 again over the season’s first three weeks, before having a brief hot streak (a .318 average over his next 15 games) snapped by a 1-for-12 slump this past week.

While the Dodgers could have kept both Freeland and Kim –– both of whom are still developing offensively in their second big-league seasons –– finding consistent playing time for both of them moving forward would’ve been difficult.

With Betts back as the everyday shortstop, their only regular opportunities would have been in a part-time role platooning at second base. 

Now, all of those at-bats figure to go Kim. Espinal, meanwhile, will keep his job as the last man on the bench, serving as a veteran presence who won’t be as affected by getting limited chances to play.

As for Betts, Roberts slotted him into the No. 2 spot of a remade lineup –– which also saw Teoscar Hernández dropped down to the No. 8 spot amid his own extended slump.

Both Roberts and Betts himself seemed to temper immediate expectations for the former MVP. Roberts said he was going to “wait and see” how the 33-year-old looked after missing the last month with a strained oblique.

“The hope is that he can kind of hit the ground running,” Roberts said. “But right now, for me, it’s I hope he’s good, I expect him to be good, but just don’t know.”

Betts said that while his swing felt good during a two-game rehab assignment, he wasn’t overly focused on his mechanics.

“I’m trying to stay off personal stuff,” he said, “and help the boys win.”