Friday, January 3, 2025
Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2025

On Friday, the Los Angeles Dodgers officially reintroduced Teoscar Hernàndez and signed Korean Baseball Organization utility fielder Hyeseong Kim. Just before Christmas, sources reported Teoscar Hernàndez reached an agreement with the Dodgers for a three-year $66 million deal.

Teoscar Hernàndez voiced his desire to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers loved Hernàndez’s clutch hitting, particularly in the postseason. With Mookie Betts moving to shortstop for the time being, Hernàndez can play his natural position, right field, where he plays better than left field. His smile helps the Dodgers’ clubhouse to be cheerful. His friendship with Shohei Ohtani is beautiful and helps to draw the superstar out of his shell.

Signing Hyeseong Kim to a three-year $12.5 million contract with a team option for two years bringing the worth of the contract to $22 million, confuses the Dodgers’ infield picture. Kim, 26, has won Gold Gloves in the KBO at second base and shortstop. He has super running speed, but nobody knows if his offensive production will translate to the major league. Kim doesn’t have much power though he had double-digit homers in the KBO.

The Dodgers have Tommy Edman and Chris Taylor. Kiké Hernàndez wants to return to the Dodgers, and they need to bring back a fan-favorite Kiké Hernàndez who performs well during the postseason.

Betts doesn’t play shortstop for a major league season. He may exhaust himself by the All-Star break, and the Dodgers can’t sacrifice Betts’ offense. If Betts plays shortstop for the entire season and hits more than twenty home runs, he will win the National League MVP. It is doubtful Betts will be the Dodgers’ shortstop in the 2026 regular season.

Gavin Lux, a high-round pick, has never met lofty expectations. In the 2024 regular season, he had an inconsistent offensive production. This is understandable when he missed the entire 2023 season with a major knee injury. However, Lux has proven he can’t hit left-handed pitching during his major league career. The Dodgers will have to platoon Lux, and this isn’t practical. Platooning two players doesn’t make two good hitters.

When the Dodgers drafted Lux in 2016, they envisioned him. He was a satisfactory shortstop in 2021 while Corey Seager was out with a broken hand. In 2023, the Dodgers named Lux as their starting shortstop before he injured his knee. The Dodgers tried Lux at shortstop during spring training of 2024, and Lux couldn’t throw accurately at first base. The Dodgers concluded that Lux couldn’t play shortstop.

Lux is a good second baseman but nothing special. Lux is eligible for arbitration. Since he was on a World Championship team in 2024, many teams would be happily getting Lux. The Dodgers need to replenish their minor league system; therefore, the Dodgers could accomplish this by trading Lux.

If the Dodgers don’t want to trade Lux, they would love to dump Chris Taylor’s large salary. For the last two seasons, Taylor’s performance has been declined. Taylor can’t play shortstop anymore. Most teams won’t want to obtain Taylor, 34, who will make $15 million in 2025, but a team would take Taylor if they could dump a large salaried player.

Signing Hernàndez and Kim improves the Dodgers who want to win the 2025 World Series. They have a month to figure out everything before they begin spring training.