Kiké Hernández roster move sees Dodgers part with player who shouldn't have been here

The Dodgers are slowly but surely getting players back from the IL, and it couldn't come at a better time. The offense came to life on Sunday and Monday against the Padres and Reds, with multiple players including Mookie Betts, Dalton Rushing, Alex Freeland, and Freddie Freeman supplying key moments as LA took back sole possession of first place in the NL West.

Both Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates came back during the Padres series, and Kiké Hernández was reactivated on Monday. Hyeseong Kim, Max Muncy, Tommy Edman, Brock Stewart, Michael Kopech, and Roki Sasaki are all still expected to be back before the end of September.

There were two obvious candidates to get booted when Hernández came back — Buddy Kennedy and Justin Dean. Kennedy was a waiver claim from the Blue Jays who came in to temporarily fill Muncy's roster spot, and Dean — a former 17th-round pick — was summoned from Triple-A.

When Kim returns from his rehab assignment, Dean's fate is basically set in stone. However, it was Kennedy who was axed first; he was designated for assignment for the fourth time this season when the Dodgers reinstated Hernández.

Dodgers welcome back Kiké Hernández, DFA interim third baseman Buddy Kennedy

Kennedy got six starts from Aug. 17-23, all at third base as a platoon with rookie Alex Freeland, to the ire of Dodgers fans. Even part-time SportsNet LA play-by-play announcer Stephen Nelson was openly critical of LA's repeated decisions to bench Freeland in favor of Kennedy, writing, "Kennedy shouldn't start over Freeland. Freeland is hot, a switch-hitter — admittedly worse as RHB but he takes walks & runs — and a big part of your future vs Kennedy, who may be gone in a few days. So who deserves/needs the big-game experience? Forget handedness."

All told, Kennedy played in seven games with six starts and batted .059 with a .170 OPS — that's one single hit in 17 at-bats. Dean struck out in the single at-bat he's gotten in 12 games, but the Dodgers are really only interested in employing him as a pinch-runner.

Kennedy had his moments on defense at third base, but the Dodgers should never have expected any level of offensive production from a player with a below-.180 lifetime batting average.

Hernández's versatility coming back to the roster will open up a whole host of opportunities for the Dodgers — maybe they give Freeland a more regular role at third and put Hernández in the outfield over Michael Conforto. No matter what they decide, they're better off without Kennedy.