Kiké Hernández is a free agent for the second time since 2020 when he left the Los Angeles Dodgers and signed a two-year, $14 million contract with the Boston Red Sox in order to have an everyday role.
The super utility man found his way back to the Dodgers at the MLB trade deadline this past season, and he went on to have a resurgent second half after initially struggling with the Red Sox.
Hernández has value as someone who can play all over the field and crush left-handed pitching despite coming off a down year. His closest comparison in terms of versatility has been Ben Zobrist, who reached free agency after the 2015 season and went on to sign a four-year, $56 million contract with the Chicago Cubs.
However, Hernández stopped short of comparing himself to Zobrist because of struggling in 2023 and said his free agency is unlike any other player, which makes it hard to find deals to make comparisons to, via the “Foul Territory” show:
“We did that a little bit the first time through, but I don’t mean this in any weird way and I mean this in the most humble way possible. I’m kind of like a unique player in the sense of I can play everywhere. There hasn’t been that many guys that do that. Of course, it would be stupid of me to compare myself after the year I just had to Ben Zobrist. There’s no way I’m getting that deal. So I’m kind of in a unique situation right now where there’s not much to comp.”
Hernández is believed to have a relatively robust market, but specific teams outside of the Dodgers have not been publicly identified. It is believed Hernández is drawing interest from clubs looking to make him their everyday center fielder.
However, a return to L.A. is not off the table, and Hernández admitted to being more open to re-signing with the Dodgers than he was in 2020.
The 32-year-old had double hernia surgery in October and is on track to make a full recovery in time for Spring Training.
Kiké Hernández wants to play with Shohei Ohtani
Before Shohei Ohtani signed with the Dodgers, Hernández said he would like to be teammates with the two-way star. Now that he is in L.A., Hernández’s desire to remain with the Dodgers has likely gotten stronger.
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