12:06pm: It’s a one-year, $4.5MM deal, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
11:48am: As expected, the Dodgers are bringing Kiké Hernández back for the 2026 season. The utilityman announced the agreement on social media, posting “What else did you expect? Three in a row has a nice ring to it!” The Dodgers have not yet announced the signing. They’ll need to open a spot on the 40-man roster once the signing is final.
Hernández has spent the past two and a half seasons in L.A. He sandwiched a few seasons in Boston in between but has spent the majority of his career with the Dodgers. Hernández was a high-end utility player earlier in his career, playing plus defense everywhere on the diamond while hitting left-handed pitching well. His offensive production has tailed off over the past few years, but the Dodgers love him as a clubhouse presence and he remains a versatile defender.
The 34-year-old Hernández is coming off a .203/.255/.366 showing across 256 regular season plate appearances. He popped 10 home runs in 93 games but struck out at a career-high 26.6% clip. Since returning to L.A. at the 2023 trade deadline, he’s a .228/.279/.382 hitter in a little over 800 trips to the plate. His .220/.278/.393 line against left-handed pitching is well below what he did against southpaws earlier in his career.
Hernández does have a strong postseason track record, compiling an .826 OPS over 103 games in October. That didn’t really materialize last season, when he hit .250/.290/.359 with one homer in 69 playoff plate appearances. He nevertheless clearly had the trust of skipper Dave Roberts, who penciled Hernández into the lineup for every game of their World Series run. Hernández played mostly left field in October as the Dodgers lost faith in the slumping Andy Pages down the stretch.
Image courtesy of Michael McLoone, Imagn Images.