Kiké Hernandez wasn't stunned when he learned that the Boston Red Sox had traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the throws of the worst offensive season of his career, Kiké Hernandez was prepared for the Red Sox to send him elsewhere. The time finally came on Tuesday the Dodgers traded for the utilityman in exchange for relief pitchers Nick Robertson and Justin Hagenman.
Hernandez played six seasons with the Dodgers, winning the 2020 World Series during his last year in Los Angeles. The 31-year-old wasn't looking to leave Boston, though he seems content with his destination following the Red Sox-Dodgers trade.
“I knew it was a possibility I was getting traded,” Hernandez told The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya. “Those are things that can consume you if you think about it too much. I caught myself one day thinking about it during the game and told myself I wasn't going to think about it anymore. I was like, ‘Maybe if I start playing better, I won't get traded.'
“They came and I go traded and it all happened so fast that I didn't even get really a chance to think about what just happened. I'm just glad that I'm here. I'm looking forward to getting started.
The trade sends Hernandez from a fringe playoff team to the contender with the second-best championship odds. The veteran played 86 of the Red Sox' 101 games.
Hernandez received a career-high 508 at-bats in 2021 during his first season with Boston. He was on pace for 476 at-bats this season. From 2015-2020 with the Dodgers, Hernandez never received more than 414 at-bats in a year. He failed to record 300 at-bats in the first three years.
“Back to the way it was,” Hernandez said when asked about potentially being a platoon player for the Dodgers. “With the season that I was having, I'm not in any position to be asking for playing time or anything like that.”
Hernandez is hitting .222/.279/.320 for a career-worst .599 OPS.
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