The Dodgers’ first move of deadline season is to bring back a familiar face: Kiké Hernández.
As reported by Ken Rosenthal on Tuesday, the Dodgers will be acquiring Hernández from the Red Sox, with whom he spent the last three seasons. They’ll send two right-handed pitching prospects—Nick Robertson, who debuted this year, and Justin Hagenman, who is in Triple-A—back to Boston.
It’s been a rough two years for Hernández, who is due to become a free agent this winter. After spending more than two months on the injured list with a hip flexor strain last season, he never quite seemed to find his way at the plate again. This year has been especially tough: His 61 OPS+, which grades him as 39 percent worse than the league-average hitter, would be his worst-ever mark for a season. In fact, it makes him one of the worst performers in baseball this year. He’s one of just three qualified hitters right now with an OPS+ below 75.
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What’s going wrong? Just about everything. Hernández’s power is gone. The 31-year-old is striking out more than he has in years. He’s lost the ability to make hard contact on fastballs, and as bad as his actual statistics have been, his expected statistics have been even worse. (Hernández is one of just four qualified hitters this year with an xBA below .200.) It’s not a pretty picture.
So what, exactly, does he bring to the Dodgers, who have climbed to first place in the NL West? There’s the chance that a new (old) environment will prompt some kind of offensive revival. And Hernández’s bat has never been his calling card, anyway. That would be his defensive flexibility—and that still holds. While Hernández stuck to second base, shortstop and center field in his time with the Red Sox, he can play just about anywhere. (Almost literally. In each of his six years with the Dodgers, he logged time at six or more positions, ultimately playing everywhere for the franchise except catcher.) That makes him an attractive bench option if he can’t stick in the starting lineup. And while that would be true anywhere, it’s especially so in Los Angeles, where a plug-and-play roster places a premium on this kind of versatility. The Dodgers have seen more than their share of injuries so far this year. Hernández represents a potentially useful depth piece to help them paper over some holes down the stretch.
As for the Red Sox? Hernández (clearly) wasn’t producing how they expected this year, and moving him can help clear out a bit of a logjam in their infield. They’re still on the fringes of the playoff picture—2.5 games out of the last wild-card berth entering Tuesday—and this move is low-stakes enough to not necessarily indicate an impending sell-off.
When the trade deadline hits next Tuesday, and all is said and done, this should not stand out as an especially important acquisition for the Dodgers. (If there isn’t any further action to outshine it—like, say, a move or two for additional pitching depth—that’s a problem!) But as far as low-risk, low-commitment moves like this? Even with Hernández’s current offensive quagmire, it’s hard to argue with bringing back a former fan favorite who offers some defensive versatility and depth.
