Rumors broke on Monday morning — and were confirmed directly from the source — that superutilityman Kiké Hernandez agreed to a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers after trading away Manuel Margot to the Minnesota Twins. The Dodgers have not yet confirmed the deal, but Hernandez is heading to Chavez Ravine. This put the L.A. Angels in a tough spot, as they were notably one of the teams in heaviest pursuit of his services.
Hernandez spent time at every position but catcher and pitcher in 2023, while also having a resurgent second half of the season after joining the Dodgers. It opened the door for plenty of free agent interest, all largely on the West Coast.
The Dodgers, who were not seen as a major player in the Hernandez chase because of Margot, came in at the last second to re-sign the outfielder. The Angels were one of the teams spurned in the process, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic:
This is all coming together quickly. Dodgers were not one of finalists The Athletic listed in its report on Saturday. Twins were one, filled hole with Margot. Others that were in mix: Padres, Angels, Giants.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 26, 2024
The Dodgers likely made this move because of who the finalists were. The Angels, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants are all not places the Dodgers want free agents to go if they have any interest in them. They found a taker for Margot — who also happened to be in on Hernandez — and made the deal themselves.
It’s another in a long list of offseason triumphs for the Dodgers, who landed Shohei Ohtani from the Angels, Yoshinobu Yamamoto from Japan and Tyler Glasnow from the Tampa Bay Rays. And for the Angels, it’s another loss in an offseason that feels to be a lost one.
The Angels, unless they pull something drastic and sign the top remaining free agent in Blake Snell, appear to be going into the season with the roster they currently have, a team that lost Ohtani after losing 89 games in each of the last two seasons.
Mike Trout pushed Angels to land top free agents
The Angels superstar felt it necessary to push management, namely Arte Moreno and John Carpino, to sign top free agents at some point this offseason.
“This offseason, I was in contact with both of them (Moreno and president John Carpino), just pushing, pushing, pushing. There’s still some guys out there that can make this team a lot better. With the guys we’ve got out here now, it’s the first day of spring. With the additions that Perry’s brought to this bullpen — I’ve always said playing good defense and having a good bullpens wins. You can look at that in the past.
“I’m just going to keep pushing as long as I can. Until the season starts or until those guys sign. It’s just in my nature. I’m doing everything I can possible. It’s obviously Arte’s decision. I’m going to put my two cents in there.”