The Los Angeles Dodgers made a flurry of moves in the week leading up to the August 1 trade deadline, beginning with their acquisition of Kiké Hernández from the Boston Red Sox.
The trade represented a reunion as Hernández previously spent six seasons with the Dodgers from 2015-2020. He, and the subsequent addition of Amed Rosario, addressed the team’s need for a right-handed bat.
Although Hernández struggled over his final two seasons with the Red Sox, he still emerged as a fan favorite and was voted on to have a bobblehead giveaway this year.
Red Sox chief marketing officer Adam Grossman explained why the team went forward with distributing a Hernández bobblehead giveaway to the first 7,500 fans at Fenway Park prior to their matchup against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive:
“We touched base with him after he was traded to tell him we’ve got this coming up,” Grossman said. “We were inclined to give it away and continue to go through with it as long as he was comfortable with it. He was comfortable. For his time here, he had a close relationship with fans. I think fans felt similarly. So we felt like, for all those reasons, why not give it out to the fans?”
The bobblehead depicts Hernández in a Puerto Rico uniform, who he represented during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Grossman further explained the bobbleheads were ordered months ahead of time and Hernández was comfortable with the giveaway still being held:
“They’re ordered months in advance,” Grossman said. “They were off-site but made and ready to go. We had them. It just felt like it was the right thing to do as long as he was comfortable with it.”
Grossman added that the Red Sox plan to send some bobbleheads to Hernández as a token of their appreciation:
Grossman said the Red Sox are planning on shipping some bobbleheads to Hernández as a thank you once the giveaway is completed.
Hernández has gotten off to a stellar start in his second stint with the Dodgers as he is hitting .317/.341/.537 with six doubles, one home run and eight RBI across 12 games entering play Thursday.
“Cleaning up some of the mechanical flaws,” Hernández recently answered when asked what his focus has been since rejoining the Dodgers.
“I guess I created some really bad habits over the last two years, and we’re trying to clean that up, get into better spots that allows me to not necessarily get my A swing off on a daily basis but be in a better position to drive the ball more consistently.”
Red Sox reportedly paying majority of remaining salary in Kiké Hernández trade
The Red Sox are reportedly covering $2.5 million of Hernández’s remaining $3.6 million for the 2023 season. The Dodgers sent Minor League pitchers Nick Robertson and Justin Hagenman to complete the deal.
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