Dodgers beat out surprising team for Kiké Hernández

Getting Kiké Hernández back home to LA gave the Dodgers yet another reason to rejoice about a successful offseason after all signs pointed to Hernández taking his talents elsewhere. His re-addition to the roster only strengthens the team's bench, which is now comprised of experienced utility men in Hernández, Chris Taylor, and Miguel Rojas, with Hernández adding a much-needed lefty substitute bat.

Before the Dodgers re-signed him, it looked like he would go the Angels, Twins, Padres, or Giants, all of whom do have more of a need for a player like him. Instead, he blindsided everyone with a return to LA.

Turns out, those four teams weren't the only ones in the conversation, and two of them were confirmed to have never made offers. According to Hernández during an interview on Foul Territory, the Tigers were also interested and (drumroll, please) the Yankees were finalists before the Dodgers picked him up for another year and $4 million.

Yankees were also in the mix for Kiké Hernández before he re-signed with Dodgers

The Dodgers have come out on top of a healthy chunk of the league's teams this year, and after the Hernández re-signing, we can add the Tigers and Twins to that list. They've already edged out the Yankees once by securing Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and although Hernández is a less impactful get, any excuse to gloat at the Yankees for a second is acceptable.

Hernández also noted that his decision came down location (Yankees camp is in Florida and he didn't want to move his family across the country) to the Dodgers' willingness to start him against left-handed pitchers, at least toward the beginning of the year while they wait to see if he can bounce back from a couple of down offensive years. That's an interesting promise to make, and it begs the interesting question of who the Dodgers will nix from the lineup in favor of Hernández when they face lefties (money's on Gavin Lux).