Of the various holes on the roster the Los Angeles Dodgers figured to address during the offseason, second base never appeared to be at the forefront. Whereas the Dodgers were linked to potential trades for J.T. Realmuto or Trevor Bauer or Corey Kluber, second base seemingly was a position they intended to address with internal options.
After joining the club at the non-waiver trade deadline last season, Brian Dozier expressed interest in re-signing with the Dodgers. However, there was little to suggest he would return this season. Sure enough, Dozier signed with the Washington Nationals.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers did have reported interest in D.J. LeMahieu, who ultimately wound up inking a two-year deal with the New York Yankees.
After the club hinted throughout the offseason that Kiké Hernandez and Chris Taylor figuring to see plenty of time at second base, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed as much as Spring Training begins to wind down, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
Dave Roberts said second base will still be shared by Enrique Hernandez and Chris Taylor.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) March 16, 2019
Last December, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman did not rule out potentially signing or trading for an everyday second baseman, but he also said Hernandez and Taylor were each worthy of more playing time in 2019.
Of his 104 starts last season, Hernandez made 22 of them at second base; his second-highest total at any position. He started 44 games in center field and 17 at shortstop.
Meanwhile, Taylor only started five games at second base in 2018, with the bulk of his time coming at shortstop (73 starts) because Corey Seager underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery.
