The boricua Enrique “Kike” Hernández and the Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to a new one-year contract for the 2024 Major League Baseball season.
Hernández had started the season with the Boston Red Sox, a team with which he had signed as a free agent in 2021. But the Red Sox sent him in the middle of the campaign to Los Angeles, a team with which Hernández played for six seasons and even reached win his first and only World Series championship ring so far, in 2020.
The Puerto Rican earned a good reputation and good value in previous years for his versatility playing various positions in the infield, as well as in the outfield, but he is coming off two seasons of little offensive production.
Hernandez has had a good connection in Los Angeles with Dodger fans and feels comfortable in the city. “For me, it was a matter of choosing where I was going to fit best and have the most options to play”declared the player who has 7 of 10 seasons in the MLB with the Dodgers uniform.
Hernández himself commented that his decision was between two teams: Dodgers and Yankees. “I feel like, with the familiarity I have with the coaches and the way they move the players here, I was going to have more playing time than in other places,” Hernández said.
And he noted: “I like to win and this is a team made to go far”.
“In the end the offers came from the Dodgers and the Yankees, two big markets. But I chose the Dodgers because I knew the place and they have a lot of left-handed hitters, so I will have a good chance of hitting against left-handed pitchers, while The Yankees have very good right-handed hitters.“explained the veteran infielder.
Regarding the New York Yankees’ interest in Hernández, manager Aaron Bonne responded the following: “I knew the Dodgers were in the running [por Hernández] and I think it was all about them opening a space.. But I know that she was curious to come here.”
In addition, the interest on the part of the Yankees could indicate that the New York board continues trying to shape its bench, where the Venezuelans Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza, the Colombian Jeter Downs, Kevin Smith and Josh VanMeter are looking to earn the last positions from the big team roster.
Keep reading:
“Judge is better than I thought”: Juan Soto was full of praise for the ‘captain’ of the Yankees
They assure that the New York Yankees’ number 1 prospect, Spencer Jones, could debut in the 2024 season
Negotiations between Yankees and Blake Snell continue, but without progress according to sources
2024-03-02 23:05:27
#team #Kike #Hernández #reasons #choosing #Dodgers #Yankees
