Kiké Hernández announced on Instagram on Thursday that he's back with the Dodgers, saying "3 in a row has a nice ring to it!" The 34-year-old agreed to a one-year, $4.5 million contract.
To make room on the roster, the Dodgers placed right-hander Evan Phillips on the 60-day injured list.
Set to return for his 10th season in Dodger Blue (13th overall), Hernández won his third World Series title -- and third with the Dodgers -- in 2025. The versatile defender also was with Los Angeles for the team’s championship runs in 2020 and ‘24. The first of those came during his initial stint with the team (2015-20), which acquired him as part of a six-player trade with the Marlins in December 2014.
Hernández signed with the Red Sox after that first title, spending 2 1/2 seasons in Boston before returning to Los Angeles via trade at the 2023 Trade Deadline. He became a free agent after both the 2023 and ‘24 seasons but both times re-signed with the Dodgers. Hernández has now logged 920 regular-season games in Dodger blue, plus another 92 over nine trips to the postseason.
Hernández played in 92 games in 2025, starting 53 of them, and hit .203/.255/.366, netting a 72 OPS+ that was his lowest since 2016. Even against lefties, Hernández posted just a .683 OPS, hitting six of his 10 homers.
Still, he offered versatility in the field, starting games at first base, second base, third base, left field and center field and even stepping in to pitch five times. And when October rolled around, Hernández was in manager Dave Roberts’ starting lineup for every single game, making 17 postseason starts (13 in left field, plus two apiece at third base and center field).
While the overall numbers didn’t look too different from the regular season (.250/.290/.359), Hernández did enjoy some big moments. He put together back-to-back multi-hit games in the NL Wild Card Series against the Reds, smacked a key two-run double in the Dodgers’ comeback win over the Phillies in Game 1 of the NLDS and possibly saved the team’s season by turning the game-ending double play from left field against the Blue Jays in Game 6 of the World Series.
A Puerto Rico native, Hernández was the Astros’ sixth-round pick in the 2009 Draft and has played for Houston, Miami, Los Angeles and Boston over his 12-year career. During that time, he has started more than 100 games apiece at second base, third base, shortstop and center field.