Kike Hernandez appeared to be a high quality utility player without a team throughout the majority of the offseason. That apparently is no longer the case as the infielder posted that he will be back with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He made the announcement on his Instagram account.
Hernandez's return to the World Series champions was confirmed by Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Hernandez signed a 1-year, $4.5 million for the 2026 season. The Dodgers also announced that Max Muncy would be back with the team at the same time the Hernandez signing was announced.
While Hernandez made several stops on the Dodgers' victory tour during the offseason, he continually made references to the idea of returning to the team. Andrew Friedman, the team's president of baseball operations, spoke positively about Hernandez as well. As a result, it seemed like the two sides were destined to remain committed to each other even though it took several months for work out the deal.
Hernandez is not likely to be ready to play for several weeks during the regular season because he had surgery on his left elbow during the offseason. He is known for making key contributions while coming off the bench for the Dodgers.
Hernandez is a 12-year MLB veteran and 9 of those seasons have been with the Dodgers. He struggled during the regular season in 2025 as he slashed .202/.255/.366 with 10 home runs and 35 RBI. However, he has been known as a solid postseason contributor throughout his career. He has slashed .272/.339/.486 with 16 career postseason home runs and 42 runs batted in. He has also scored 46 postseason runs.
