GLENDALE, Ariz. — Healthy for the first time since late in the 2021 season, Kiké Hernandez has grand plans for what is technically his third stint with the Dodgers.
Signed earlier this week to a one-year, $4 million free-agent deal, the Dodgers intend to give the super-utility man much of his early chances in center field against left-handed pitching, with his infield skills expected to be put to use as well.
Hernandez will even serve as the Dodgers’ backup first baseman, but with All-Star Freddie Freeman there, those opportunities figure to be rare.
“I know what I bring to the table and it’s kind of been the same role for years now,” Hernandez said Thursday. “I might be penciled in against lefties to start games, but I also have to be ready to play any other position at any point of the game. It’s kind of what I’ve been doing for a long time. I’m expecting to bring the same thing to the table this year.”
The fan favorite in Los Angeles was not quite embraced the same way when he was a member of the Boston Red Sox from 2021 into last season. But when he was traded back to the Dodgers in July, the old love was there waiting for him.
“The reception of the fans, they gave me a standing ovation, and I did not imagine that (energy) was gonna last like around a month,” Hernandez said. “I kind of got a little bit embarrassed every time I would take the field because they were giving me a standing ovation. And I was like, ‘Oh man alright guys, I don’t want have (all that) attention right now.’”
Calling it “special,” that fan attention helped Hernandez to rebound in 2023 with five home runs and 30 RBIs in 54 games with the Dodgers. In 86 games with the Red Sox to start the season, he had six home runs and 31 RBIs.
But Hernandez was also playing with a nagging abdominal injury that first surfaced late in his first season in Boston. It wasn’t until this past offseason that the issue was rectified with surgery for a double hernia.
“It was just very frustrating physically and mentally to not feel right and to tell your body to do something and your body won’t do it,” Hernandez said. “Struggling on both sides of the ball was very tough on me.
“When you’re playing in pain, you’re not having that much fun. And especially when you’re in pain (and) they tell you that you’re fine that there’s nothing wrong, it makes you doubt yourself and makes you think a million things at a time.”
Said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts: “By his own admission, he feels 100 percent right now. He hit a home run in his simulated game (Wednesday). I’m excited to get him back in the lineup (Friday).”
Hernandez is expected to start in center field for Friday night’s home game against the Cleveland Guardians. He will be in the lineup with designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, who will be playing in his second game for the Dodgers.
“I feel like everybody needs to get to witness that on a daily basis and I’m just really looking forward to the Ohtani experience,” Hernandez said.
CLOSE CALL
Max Muncy said X-rays on his left hand Thursday were negative after he was hit by a pitch in Wednesday’s game against the Texas Rangers and left the contest early.
“As soon as it hit me, honestly it felt fine,” Muncy said. “They came out to check on it and once I took the batting glove off, it looked like maybe a blood vessel popped so my knuckle was about three times as big as it normally was. That’s when we were like ‘Maybe it’s not as good as we thought.’”
Related Articles
Dodgers fan awarded $108,500 for security guard scuffle at stadium
Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani announces marriage in surprise social media post
Yoshinobu Yamamoto debuts, but Rangers hand Dodgers 1st Cactus League loss
Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto dazzles in spring training debut
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter gets cheers from his old school, Diamond Bar High
Muncy had a scheduled off day Thursday and hopes to return to game action Friday but he might get at least one more day of rest as a precaution.
“We kinda have almost like a curse around here,” Muncy said. “It feels like someone gets hit in the hand each spring. Whether it was me one year, (Justin Turner) one year, it’s always something going on. But thankfully it’s nothing too serious and hopefully it stays that way.”
AROUND THE BASES
After a tidy two-inning outing on Wednesday against the Rangers, right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto is not expected to pitch again until next Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox. … Despite playing in just one spring game so far, Ohtani remains on track to start the season on time March 20-21 against the San Diego Padres at South Korea. “I feel like it’s gonna be pretty easy to get to that target of 50 (at-bats),” Ohtani said Thursday through an interpreter. “Like I said earlier, I just want to keep the intensity up and make sure my body’s feeling strong.”