The Los Angeles Dodgers avoided arbitration with several players over the past winter, including Kiké Hernandez, who signed a one-year, $5.9 million contract that covers the 2020 season.
The upcoming campaign figured to be a pivotal one for the 28-year-old, as he is set to become a free agent for the first time in his career at the end of the year.
However, with the season currently in jeopardy due to concerns over the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, there is no telling whether Hernandez will get an opportunity to improve his stock on the field during the coming months.
Hernandez described how difficult of a position it is to be in, but explained his focus is on controlling what he can, via SportsNet LA:
“The year you get ready and prepare for your entire life, it gets put on hold and you don’t if you’re actually going to be able to play and perform. But those are things that as soon as you sign in pro ball, you start hearing the words, ‘control what you can control.’ It takes a long time to be able to do that, to be able to control what you can control, but I’d say with 11 years of pro ball under my belt, I’ve gotten to a point where I’ve gotten better at controlling what I can control. I’m at peace in my mind right now and just ready to get back to playing baseball whenever we can.”
While there is optimism that a 2020 season can be salvaged in some form, MLB and the MLB Players Association have already struck a deal that ensures players will still be granted the same service time from last year regardless of how many games are played.
For the Dodgers, that means Hernandez, and most notably Mookie Betts, are still on track to become free agents later this year.
Hernandez appeared in 130 games last season, hitting .237/.304/.411 with 19 doubles, 17 home runs and a career-high 64 RBI while lining up at seven different positions.
He is one of many Dodgers players open to beginning the 2020 season in a centralized location such as Arizona, which was one of the many scenarios being discussed. More recently it appears MLB is attempting to facilitate a scenario where games are played at home ballparks.
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