Bring Back Kike? Yes or No

                                    There will probably be at some point a discussion among the front office staff about resigning Kike Hernandez. Kike would likely have to sign a minor league deal since there are no open spots on the roster, plus the fact he would not be able to start playing until at least May. Kike is a huge fan favorite and has had some very big moments in post season play, most notably his 3-homer game in the 2017 NLCS against the Brewers. His catch and throw in game six of this year’s World Series helped push the series to seven games.

                                         Do the Dodgers need Kike, or is he a redundant piece on a team loaded with versatile players? I am fairly certain that fans will have widely varying opinions. Myself, I try to look at Kike the same way I did at Justin Turner just before he left via free agency. Kike moved on that way after the 2020 season. In 2021, he had one of his best offensive seasons. He hit 20 homers for the second time in his career. He drove in 60 runs, reaching that total for just the second time in his career. 

                                        He had his BEST post season run ever in the three series the Red Sox played in. He went 1-3 in their Wild Card game against the Yankees. He then went 9-20 against the Jays in the ALDS with 2 homers and 6 driven in. He hit .385 with 10 hits in 24 at bats against the Astros in a losing cause in the LCS. 3 of his hits were homers, all were solo shots. 5 of his 16 career post season homers were hit that year. 

                                       So, he has had a lot of success in post season play. His numbers in World Series play are a lot less impressive. In five World Series he has a cumulative BA of .202. He has 2 homers and 9 RBIs. But he has struck out 28 times in 84 at bats and walked just 4 times. 15 of those Ks came in the 2025 series. Other than 1 homer, a solo shot in a losing cause in game 5, he did not contribute anything to the offense at all. He did not walk once.

                                        Kike has always been at his best as a super sub. Twice the Dodgers gave him a starting job to open the season, and twice, he was not very good. The first time was 2016. He hit 190. He was the starting 2nd baseman in 2017, he hit .215. When he became a full-time sub in 18, his numbers went up. His defense has always been his strong suit. Early in his career he seemed to be pull happy and tried to hit everything to left field. When he hit 21 homers in 18, it might have been the worst thing to happen to him simply because he is not an atypical power hitter. But 18 is the only season in his career where he posted an OPS over .800.

                                       It is highly possible that the injury he had affected his hitting in 25. And his surgery should have corrected his condition. Whatever the reason, he struck out 68 times and walked just 18. Kike turns 35 in August. We worry about Freeman and Betts because of their age, along with Muncy. The Dodger roster of position players is not a youthful bunch. Of the projected starting 9, only Pages and Tucker are younger than 30. Of the projected bench, Kim and Rushing are the only sub-30 players. 

                                       We all get a little sentimental about some players, many fans wanted Justin Turner brought back, but clearly it was not a logical fit. JT could no longer play 3rd every day, Ohtani was the DH, and Freddie was entrenched at first. So, JT has spent the last three seasons bouncing from the Red Sox to the Jays then Mariners and then the Cubs. He will most likely return to the organization in some capacity down the road, but his days as a player are fast reaching the end.

                                         There were a few times when I was much younger when a player left or was traded that I wondered why they did that. First time was when Duke Snider was sold to the Mets. Duke was my favorite player, so Buzzie Bavasi was on my crap list for a while. Then they traded Maury Wills and got junk back. By the time Willie D was traded to the Expos, I had begun not to care. When Garvey left via free agency, I thought they should have at least made an offer to keep him in LA, but they had Greg Brock, and expected him to be the man for a while, which he wasn’t

                                         When Kike left after the 2020 season, it made total sense to me. They had Chris Taylor who basically could play anywhere on the field, and they did not need two super utility guys. It was a smart move for Kike since he got a starting job with the Red Sox and had one of his better offensive years. If you look at their career stats, Taylor has a higher BA, more stolen bases, a higher slug, OBP, OPS and OPS+. Kike has more homers, 130-110 and more RBIs 470-443. Kike’s big edge is in post season play. 

                                        Taylor had his moments too like his walk off homer in the Wild Card game against the Cardinals in 21 and his 3-homer game which kept the Dodgers alive in the LCS against Atlanta. Kike also had a key homer in the World Series run in 2020. In game seven against Atlanta, he hit the game tying homer. Bellinger then won the game with his blast. He then had his shoulder dislocated by Kike’s high arm bump.

                                        I was very surprised when Kike was brought back in 23, but he performed very well and helped LA win the division. He even went 3-8 in the LCS loss to the D-Backs. But his last two seasons offensive numbers have not been very good. Taking all sentimentality out of the equation, I don’t think he will return unless something drastic happens. His injury plus the fact that the Dodgers have Rojas, Freeland, Kim, Ibanez, and Edman, all middle infielders capable of playing elsewhere, reduces their need for a player who is coming off of injury and won’t even be ready for spring training. I say thanks for the memories and good luck wherever you might end up playing.