Soon after players arrived at Camelback Ranch for the start of Spring Training, Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi confirmed the club expected to carry a backup shortstop on their 25-man active roster come the regular season.
The prime candidates to fill that role were Charlie Culberson, Kiké Hernandez and Chris Taylor. Hernandez seemingly held somewhat of an advantage over Culberson and Taylor due to greater versatility. But Taylor has negated some of that by logging time in center field this spring.
Not long into the competition, Hernandez left camp to join Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. He admitted to having some initial reservations but they subsided, per Bill Plunkett of the O.C. Register:
“Before heading over, yes,” Hernandez said when asked if he worried about leaving camp instead of staying to fight for a job. “But once I was there, you had to pick and choose whether you were going to have your mind in spring training or have your mind on the WBC. Once everything started, it wasn’t hard to take my mind off here and just focus on that because it was pretty intense. It was like playing Game 7 but for eight games.”
Culberson and Taylor have done their part to make the Dodgers’ decision a difficult one. Culberson is hitting .255/.352/.340 with two doubles, one triple and three RBI through 19 Cactus League games.
Taylor is batting .432/.563/.622 with three doubles, two triples, three RBI and a team-high 10 walks in 18 games.
Prior to departing Camelback Ranch, Hernandez went 5-for-19 with one double, three walks and four strikeouts in seven Cactus League games. He did end his time on a positive note, putting together consecutive multi-hit games.
Over six WBC, making three starts, Hernandez had four hits (one triple), two RBI and three strikeouts in 15 at-bats.
His first action since Puerto Rico fell short to Team USA in the WBC final came Friday, when he started at shortstop and hit ninth. The 25-year-old went 2-for-2 with one double, one walk and one strikeout.
He’s now batting .273/.385/.748 with four walks in eight spring games. Hernandez has focused this spring on a improving his swing and path to the ball, as he looks to shake off last season’s struggles.
