When Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes spoke today at the club’s FanFest event, he addressed the ongoing free agency of fan favorite utility man Enrique Hernandez. As noted by The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, Gomes noted that “the door remains open” for the club to bring Hernandez back into the fold for 2025.
Gomes’s comments come shortly after reports surfaced of interest in Hernandez on the part of the Yankees. Hernandez, 33, has spent parts of eight seasons in Los Angeles and is a career .240/.307/.416 hitter in a Dodgers uniform. After first playing for the club from 2015 to 2020, Hernandez departed for the Red Sox in free agency prior to the 2021 season but was traded back to L.A. at the 2023 trade deadline. He posted solid numbers the rest of the way in a bench role for the club and then returned for 2024 on a one-year, $4MM deal last winter despite interest from a handful of other clubs, including the Yankees.
His most recent season wasn’t quite on the level of his previous work in L.A. as he hit just .229/.281/.373 with a wRC+ of 83 in 393 trips to the plate. Even his work against southpaws, where Hernandez has long excelled the most, took a step back this past year as he posted just a 90 wRC+ despite a solid career .255/.337/.453 line against opposite-handed pitchers. With that being said, Hernandez was an X-factor for the Dodgers during their postseason run this past year with a .294/.357/.451 slash line in 57 trips to the plate against the Padres, Mets, and Yankees en route to the club’s first full-season World Series championship in nearly 40 years.
That electric performance and Hernandez’s status as a beloved figure both within the organization and among the fanbase has seemingly left the Dodgers interested in a reunion even in spite of Hernandez’s diminished production and a major roster crunch on the positional side of things. As things stand currently, recently-signed infielder Hyeseong Kim and center fielder Andy Pages are the only two position players on the Dodgers’ projected roster who can be optioned to the minors. Assuming that Hernandez would be part of the club’s Opening Day roster, that would likely leave Pages as the odd man out given that L.A. already traded Gavin Lux in part to accommodate the addition of Kim to their lineup on a regular basis.
Pages had a perfectly solid rookie season in 2024 but could find himself a victim of the club’s access of quality position players. He hit .248/.305/.407 in 116 games and 443 plate appearances with the Dodgers last year while splitting time between all three outfield spots but primarily playing center field. As things stand, Pages figures to be deployed primarily as a right-handed complement to Michael Conforto in the outfield or perhaps handle center field on days where Tommy Edman moves into the infield mix. Hernandez doesn’t offer the same offensive upside as Pages, but is a solid hitter against lefties himself and offers more versatility with the ability to play virtually any position on the diamond as needed.
If the Dodgers wanted to carry both Hernandez and Pages on the Opening Day roster without an injury solving the logjam naturally, the most likely candidate to lose his roster spot would likely be Hernandez’s fellow utility veteran Chris Taylor. The 34-year-old is entering the final guaranteed year of his four-year, $60MM deal with the Dodgers but struggled badly in 2024 with a paltry .202/.298/.300 slash line in 87 games that was good for a wRC+ of just 74, 26% below the league average. He struck out in 30.9% of his plate appearances last year and missed a month of last year due to a groin strain. He posted stronger numbers down the stretch last year with a 121 wRC+ after returning from injury, but that came in a sample of just 57 plate appearances. Taylor was used only sparingly in the club’s playoff run last year and struggled when he was allowed to hit, slashing just .231/.333/.231 with a 31.3% strikeout rate in just 16 postseason plate appearances.
4 million dollar contract with 3,999,999 deferred
As long as it’s consensual then it’s all good.
That’s what she said!
That’s what Trevor Bauer said !
that’s funny no doubt, however you need to be punished for posting it…Trevor Bauer will arrive in a couple hours. In the mean time you will be kept in his playtime dungeon.
Now That’s Funny!!! I don’t care who you are!!
That’s Funny!!!
I’ll buy that for a dollar!
Hard not to want him on the team, considering the presence he brings (Kiké is both intense and loose) and the fact that he turns into 2011 David Freese when the calendar turns to October.
Gotta be Taylor. I wouldn’t think they’d DFA him.
But I didn’t think that of Brasier either. Maybe a trade with Dodgers chipping in $10m!
Can they chip in $20m?
Love Kike. Great energy and he’s always come through for LA in October. He belongs in Dodger Blue.
Dodgers always happy to defer dollars to below league average players
Dumbest comment today!
Yup, that’s their MO.
Ohtani, Snell, Teoscar, Mookie, Freddie. All below average.
Hey Mad1. That really was a dumb comment. To show you are truly sorry, please remove yourself from the chats for the next six months.
He is going to defer his removal from the chats to several years down the line.
so very clever
Oh those things.
DO IT ! Sign em. He is different player in post-season, can play almost any position, n is a huge fan favorite in LA. Go Dodgers ! 15 days …
Kike and JT both want to return to LA and are too lazy to put in a hard day’s work for any lesser teams.
@Reynaldo’s
Calling Kiké and JT lazy is just ridiculous. Kiké literally plays every position but catcher and pitcher, and Turner was a grinder for years. You can dislike the Dodgers, but don’t make stuff up.
Yes, but at this point in their careers, they have tasted what winning is like with Dodgers, and are holding out to only get offered another contract to return there.
This will be the most important signing of the off season. The other signings just brought even more talent to a team that was already projected to be in the World Series next year. The energy Kiké brings will help the Dodgers get maximum output from everyone in the dugout.
he’s likely responsible for the turnaround in SD and provides the fire robots lacks. hard to define but I agree, very important signing.
Tommy Edman is the best utility man in the majors right now. Kiki needs to hope the Dodgers are planning on starting Edman at either center or on the infield at shortstop or second base.
dizzy, the Dodgers are expected to start Edman in both spots – he will start in center against right handed pitching, and at second base against left handed pitching.
I’d be interested to know where you picked up this information. It makes some sense, but I doubt they acquired Kim for platoon duty.
I believe I have read it somewhere, but the only thing I can point to right now is Roster Resources, which may be their speculation. It’s often informed speculation, but it could be wrong.
Need the league to extend the roster to 30 man lol
F the Dodgers…
As many pointed out in the Yankees thread that Hernandez can only get a minor league contract from the Dodgers and wait for camp to break to be added to the roster when a bunch of players get put on the 60 day IL. The only way he leaves LA is if someone is willing to grossly overpay and that’s not likely to happen
He doesn’t have to wait for camp to break. Players can be put on the 60 day injured list after the first full squad workout of the spring. They can just wait until then, and then after they have put people on the 60 day list sign Hernandez to a major league contract.
There will likely only be pitchers put on the 60-day IL at the start of spring training. That doesn’t help Kiké get on the active roster.
March/April does come with an extra roster spot
and it is full
I meant 28 total 14 batters
only for the Tokyo games
Of course! Where else is that little weasel going? Running home to d*ddy with their unlimited funds ruining the game, and have every player on retainer and the scumbag fans on autopilot with their “your favorite owner could do it too!” garbage. This game is a joke, and so is LA.
Oy Mic, you’re the joke!
The Dark Side feeds off your hate!
@Mickey Solis
Blaming the Dodgers for ‘ruining the game’ while ignoring that other teams also spend big is just lazy. Every team had a shot at Kiké; the Dodgers just happen to be smarter with their money.
clearly this person can’t understand normal thinking
Mickey
I know that you consider attacking the Dodgers to be your full-time occupation.
But it’s not like Ohtani and Soto. Every team in the league can afford Kike Hernandez. If no one else wants this guy – who is so-so during the regular season and becomes very good when the post-season arrives – why shouldn’t the Dodgers add him?
My life improved the day I muted Mickey Solis.
As did mine, and I’m not a Dodgers fan.
Funny. I didn’t even see his post since he was muted.
I love Mickey. He’s got to be a Dodger fan. All the overacting about every article. Secret Dodger fan
Trade Taylor straight up for Marte. Option Pages to let him play everyday until an injury and sign Hernandez.
S.Marte has nowhere to play on LAD. As light hitting as Taylor is he plays infield and outfield, Marte doesn’t help the Kiké situation.
Is this the guy that “thrust” into another guy in the playoffs
If the Dodgers sign Hernandez the door will “remain open” for other teams to win the world series
you sure know your baseball dontcha?
Dontcha
What is one thing Dustin May, Tony Gonslin, Bobby Miller, and Gavin Stone all have in common. They play on the same team as Tyler Glassnow. Blake Snell will be winking at that
you mean whiffing. and Stone is out for the year and Miller will be in AAA. try to keep up.
It’s just my point Sal.
you don’t have a point brew. they have the deepest staff in the game.
Coming into the season yes but you never know what it’s going to look like come sept 30th with Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Dustin May and Tony Gonslin leading off. I’m just saying. There’s no sure thing in my eyes.
all one can do is try to assemble the best talent. after that, we will all have to see.
Your absolutely right because it will come all down to the players. There is no question with the Dodgers in terms of putting themselves ahead of the pack in the raising talent and attracting free agents.
So what are Dodger fans going to do if they don’t win the World Series with a competitive balance payroll and tax that’s $180,000,000 more than any other team?
try again in 2026. what would you do?
Incoming salary cap similar to NBA.. what would you do?
play by whatever rules are in place.
This is not newsworthy! The Dodgers want to sign everybody! Greedy to the core!
not sure I buy the analysis that it’s either Kike or Pages for the final roster spot. But, if it does come down to those two, I would much prefer Pages. Pages, not Kiki, should platoon with Conforto.
I agree. Pages probably makes the team.
Chatty Kathy