The Los Angeles Dodgers claimed Jack Suwinski off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Dodgers placed Kiké Hernández on the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster.
Suwinski was designated for assignment by the Pirates on Feb. 16 after two poor seasons with the club. Over the past two years, he’s hit just .169/.271/.297 with 12 home runs and a 59 wRC+ over 147 games.
But in 2023, Suwinski turned in what looked like a breakout season by hitting .224/.339/.454 with 26 home runs, 63 runs scored, 74 RBI and 13 stolen bases with a 112 wRC+ in 144 games.
There’s a lot of swing-and-miss to his game, but Suwinski still has high-end bat speed and elite plate discipline, ranking at the top of the league in both chase rate and walk rate.
The left-handed hitter is a pure platoon bat, as over his career, he has a 100 wRC+ against right-handers and a 55 wRC+ against southpaws. Even during his career year in 2023, Suwinski hit .232/.353/.503 against righties and .200/.295/.313 against lefties.
The 27-year-old has experience in all three outfield spots and was a quality defender in 2023. Since then, he has not graded out as well, and his metrics in 2024 were poor with -7 outs above average.
Suwinski has above-average speed and can swipe a base if needed, but it’s not a major part of his game.
Coming into Spring Training, he figures to compete for a spot on the Dodgers’ bench as the fourth outfielder and a lefty bat off the bench.
He may also have the inside edge over Alex Call for that outfield spot, given his handedness and abilities, along with their options remaining. Suwinski is out of options, so the Dodgers will need to carry him on their roster or designate him for assignment, while Call has two remaining.
Call’s fit on the roster is not clear given that he’s an average defender who lacks versatility, and he hits from the same side as both players ahead of him, Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages.
Kiké Hernández placed on 60-day injured list
Hernández was moved to the 60-day Il as expected. He is not expected to return until midseason, but the 34-year-old had previously speculated on Adam Ottavino’s Baseball & Coffee podcast that he would miss around one to two months.
Hernández played in 92 games last season, hitting .203/.255/.366 with eight doubles, 10 home runs and 35 RBI. He also appeared in all 17 playoff games, batting .250 with nine runs, one homer and seven RBI, becoming the franchise leader in postseason appearances in the process.
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