Kiké Hernández's weird quote about re-signing with Dodgers creates 2020 intrigue

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost several pieces of their soul following the 2020 season -- and it certainly would've been nice, in retrospect, if they'd stuck around for the whole "defend the integrity of your title" nonsense that's continued for the three years since.

Joc Pederson, destined to depart in free agency, was seeking an increased role. Alex Wood chose the same thing with the San Francisco Giants. And Kiké Hernández, the ultimate playoff warrior, bolted for Alex Cora and Boston, a team that could guarantee him a starting job.

At the time, it seemed deserved, though it was obviously a massive bummer that the Dodgers couldn't find a competitive way to stay in Hernández's market. He'd just come off a pair of homers in the NLCS, including one in (when else?) Game 7. He almost singlehandedly carried the 2017 Dodgers past the Cubs in the NLCS, socking three homers while hitting .444. He had more than acquitted himself well with moderate playing time, and he possessed the indefinable quality of being able to breathe, compose himself, and handle October.

And yet, the Red Sox poached him while the Dodgers laid back. According to Hernández's latest interview, that might have been more of a guarantee than we'd thought?

The utility man found his way back to the Dodgers at this year's deadline, and conventional wisdom says the team won't let him go (at a likely reduced price) a second time. Hernández purports to be open to that idea, too, but cryptically claimed this week on the "Foul Territory" podcast that he's "way more open" to it now than he was in 2020. Hmm.

Dodgers should bring back Kiké Hernández in free agency, if he's open to it

Is that because he knew the Dodgers weren't willing to extend themselves as far as he required? Is it because he knew they didn't value him the way other teams did? Or something deeper? Had he just lost all interest in LA's culture and needed a reset?

It's probably just a variation on the first thing. Andrew Friedman probably drew a line in the sand and essentially closed the door before Hernández even had a chance to counter.

Either way, the wording here invites new and different questions we didn't necessarily expect when addressing Hernández's fairly low-key 2024 free agency.