Dodgers just made 2 moves that look like Kiké Hernandez, Tommy Edman insurance

It's unsurprising that the always-injured Dodgers had two players undergo offseason surgeries that are almost guaranteed to delay their starts in 2026. Tommy Edman had in issue with his ankle that he had taken care of; Kiké Hernández fixed his elbow. Hernández still isn't officially a Dodger, but bringing him back on a one-year deal when he's healthy is basically set in stone, given their history.

Edman and Hernández's murky timelines (Edman will probably be back within the first month of the season and Hernández in the summer, but there are no guarantees) left the Dodgers with a need for more bench depth. They re-signed Miguel Rojas, but they're clearly not sold on Hyeseong Kim or Alex Freeland.

They made two moves on Friday to try to remedy this: claiming utility man Ryan Fitzgerald off of waivers from the Twins, and signing former Tigers infielder Andy Ibáñez to a major league deal. Ibáñez getting a big league deal is a little insane, and it makes him only the second new player to be added to the Dodgers' roster this offseason, but the bench help had to come from somewhere.

Dodgers claim utility man Ryan Fitzgerald off of waivers, sign Andy Ibáñez to a one-year deal

Fitzgerald appeared in 24 games for the Twins in 2025, hitting for a pretty lopsided .196 average and .759 OPS thanks to his four homers during his short stint. He was designated for assignment on Jan. 2 when the Twins acquired Eric Wagaman from the Marlins, who was in turn DFA'ed to make room for Esteury Ruiz upon his trade from the Dodgers to the Marlins. We've come full-circle.

Ibáñez was a solid bench guy for the Tigers in 2023-24, and he even got his moment in the spotlight in the 2024 Wild Card against the Astros, when he hit a bases-clearing, go-ahead double off of Josh Hader to send the Tigers to the ALDS. His playing time decreased in 2025 as his ability to hit lefties, which was really his only job with the Tigers, declined, and he was non-tendered at the November deadline.

There's almost no way that Ibáñez survives the roster crunch when Hernández is healthy, but you never know. The Dodgers have a habit of taking players off of other teams' scrapheaps and spinning them into very respectable players. At the very least, the Dodgers have a little more insurance on the bench to tide them over until Hernández gets back.