Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — “I don’t speak English,” joked Enrique “Kiké” Hernandez to a familiar gaggle of reporters in the Dodger dugout before Wednesday afternoon’s game with the Toronto Blue Jays. But then (in English of course) held court showing his traditional mix of humor, enthusiasm, and (maybe) a bit of humility.
Hernández was a clear fan favorite in Los Angeles before seeking an everyday role in free agency with Boston. He proved some of that self-belief to be correct in his first year with the Red Sox, producing a .786 OPS (108 OPS+) and 5.0 wins above replacement, according to Baseball Reference. But his bat has slipped this season, even against left-handed pitching, where he has a below-league average .652 OPS. His glove has massively regressed according to outs above average this season as the Sox tried to make him the everyday shortstop in the absence of Xander Bogaerts and the wake of the injury to Trevor Story.
The way Hernandez tells it, the writing was pretty much on the wall for an exit. “I was playing less and less,” he said. “You hear rumors, but I didn’t know anything until about 1:00 (on Tuesday). “They told me that the deal was on the one yard line. I had to wait, though, to clean out my locker because you can’t do that until the deal is final. Plus, the press were still in the locker room, and I didn’t want to clear out my locker in front of them.”
Hernandez perhaps returns to the Dodgers with a diminished skill set, but he still is excited to be back in LA. “When you’re playing for another time, you really don’t have time to think about it, but coming back here, getting on the elevator, a lot of good memories came back.”
“I’d say the difference is mostly maturity,” said manager Dave Roberts in response to questions about how this version of Hernandez was different from the one who walked off the field as a World Series champion in 2020, his final game (until Wednesday) as a Dodger. “When he left, he was very much interested in being an everyday player. But I talked to him about this time and what my expectations are, and he embraced his role.”
Hernandez, for now anyway, will be used mainly against righthanders. Roberts said that he envisions a utility role for him in the field, which might include some time at centerfield, a position he played quite a bit in his heyday in Boston, when the team made a bit of an unexpectedly deep run in the 2021 playoffs. That year, Hernandez hit .408 in eleven games, and had a hefty OPS of 1.260, which included five home runs.
“It was tough day today,” former Dodgers and current Red Sox Justin Turner told the Boston media following the Sox win over the Atlanta Braves at Fenway Park. “Obviously Kiké was a big part of the reason I’m wearing this uniform right now. Texting me constantly, asking me to come over here and then obviously this happens today. We all understand it’s a business and things happen, but definitely a little bittersweet just knowing that he’s getting an opportunity to go back to LA, where he thrived back there. But I know we’re definitely going to miss him.”
The feeling was mutual. Hernandez recounted his goodbye with JT. “It might be TMI, but it happened in the shower,” he said. “And only one of us was dressed, and that was Justin… obviously I’m going to miss him. Especially since I was one of the main reasons that he ended up signing there in the first place. But at least these days with technology, we can keep in touch. But we’ve had a lot of history, seven years of playing together. So, yeah, it was hard to say goodbye.”
And now, it’s time to say hello to the Dodgers.
