Could Dodgers reunite with Kiké Hernandez at the trade deadline?

The Los Angeles Dodgers have somehow now lost two series to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2022, which has perhaps played a small role in exposing this team’s weaknesses.

Don’t get us wrong, LA is still arguably the best team in baseball, but hardly anybody endures flawless campaigns without personnel issues. Just think about this: the Dodgers have been flip-flopping with the New York Yankees for the best record in MLB despite missing Clayton Kershaw and Blake Treinen while enduring underwhelming campaigns from Will Smith, Gavin Lux, Justin Turner and Chris Taylor as well as more really bad showings from Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy and Craig Kimbrel.

This team can weather almost any storm during the regular season. But October is a different story, and fans saw that last year. Even Max Scherzer and Trea Turner couldn’t save them when injuries continued to mount.

Thankfully, some unexpected names have stepped up to lift the Dodgers to where they are now. Edwin Rios, Tyler Anderson, Daniel Hudson, Evan Phillips and Tony Gonsolin have picked up a ton of the slack.

Nonetheless, that depth will continue to be tested, especially with the uncertainty surrounding Muncy’s elbow injury as well as Bellinger’s continued unimpressive play. That means fans can probably expect a position player coming to LA along with another reliever when the trade deadline arrives.

And how about Kiké Hernandez, folks?!

Will the Dodgers consider trading for Kiké Hernandez at the August deadline?

Despite a mini surge to dig themselves out of an unforgivable hole, the Boston Red Sox are 23-27 with no signs of crawling back into contention before the Aug. 2 trade deadline. And general manager Chaim Bloom has plenty of assets on expiring contracts to sell if he wants to expedites Boston’s rebuild.

Hernandez is one of them, as he’s earning $8 million in another contract year. There’s both good news and bad news here, though. Let’s start with the bad.

Hernandez is hitting just .203 with a 71 OPS+ through 47 games this year, which would by far be his worst season to date. This is while everyone else around him mashes. Bad. However, that means the Dodgers could perhaps get him on the cheap if the Sox are willing to sell. Just eat the remainder of his ~$3-4 million and ship off mid-level prospects.

In return, the Dodgers would bring back a familiar face capable of playing multiple positions at a high level … as well as a postseason legend. Across 69 playoff games, Hernandez is hitting .269 with 13 home runs, 27 RBI and a .900 OPS. You remember how clutch he was for the Dodgers, don’t you?

More importantly, however, even though he’s not performing to expectations at this point, Hernandez has only recently been plagued by a short, rough stretch. He’s not dealing with a serious injury like Muncy, or trying to get back on track like Bellinger, or trying to make an impression like Gavin Lux. 

A return to LA and a bounceback is hardly out of the question, and something LA needs to continue if that aforementioned trio still can’t get the job done.

Dodgers’ role for Max Muncy clearly didn’t help his elbow injury

Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Max Muncy might go on the injured list after possibly aggravating his elbow issue from last year.