Kiké Hernández was limited for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ playoff run due to a left elbow injury he sustained earlier in the season.
As the Dodgers were getting set to face the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series, the utility man attempted to rest his elbow and couldn’t take live batting practice.
Hernández was limited to using a Trajekt machine, which has become a common occurrence across the sport.
However, Hernández revealed the Dodgers couldn’t quite get a full grasp of Blue Jays pitchers Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage due to their unorthodox release points, via “Baseball and Coffee” with Adam Ottavino:
“With my elbow, I couldn’t hit in between series. The first time I was able to swing was two days before the World Series, when we flew into Toronto and had an optional workout. You do what you need to do. I was like, well I didn’t get live ABs, so I need to get on Trajekt. I faced Gausman for a little bit, but I’ve faced Gausman a lot. So even if my timing is not right, at least I know what it feels like. So I was like, I want to face Yesavage because we thought Yesavage was starting Game 1. We started moving the Trajekt, and sure enough, the Trajekt doesn’t even get as high as his release point.”
The Trajekt Arc is an advanced pitching machine that mimics a pitcher’s arsenal. The Dodgers have used it at various times over the last two seasons for batting practice and game-planning against certain pitchers.
L.A. had mixed results against Gausman as he went 0-2 with a 4.26 ERA and 0.71 WHIP in 12.2 innings pitched across two World Series starts.
Yesavage made three appearances (two starts) against the Dodgers and went 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 12.2 innings of work.
Hernández homered off Yesavage in Game 5 but largely struggled against the Blue Jays as he hit just .179/.172/.286 across 29 plate appearances.
Kiké Hernández played through UCL injury
Hernández not only became a free agent after the Dodgers won the 2025 World Series, but he also underwent left elbow surgery to repair the issue that plagued him for most of the year.
Hernández has since revealed that he played through a UCL injury in his left elbow for most of the 2025 season as well.
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