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12:06pm:<\/strong> It\u2019s a one-year, $4.5MM deal, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic<\/a>.<\/p>\n 11:48am: <\/strong>As expected, the Dodgers are bringing Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez<\/strong><\/a> back for the 2026 season. The utilityman announced the agreement<\/a> on social media, posting \u201cWhat else did you expect? Three in a row has a nice ring to it!\u201d The Dodgers have not yet announced the signing. They\u2019ll need to open a spot on the 40-man roster once the signing is final.<\/p>\n Hern\u00e1ndez has spent the past two and a half seasons in L.A. He sandwiched a few seasons in Boston in between but has spent the majority of his career with the Dodgers. Hern\u00e1ndez was a high-end utility player earlier in his career, playing plus defense everywhere on the diamond while hitting left-handed pitching well. His offensive production has tailed off over the past few years, but the Dodgers love him as a clubhouse presence and he remains a versatile defender.<\/p>\n The 34-year-old Hern\u00e1ndez is coming off a .203\/.255\/.366 showing across 256 regular season plate appearances. He popped 10 home runs in 93 games but struck out at a career-high 26.6% clip. Since returning to L.A. at the 2023 trade deadline, he\u2019s a .228\/.279\/.382 hitter in a little over 800 trips to the plate. His .220\/.278\/.393 line against left-handed pitching is well below what he did against southpaws earlier in his career.<\/p>\n Hern\u00e1ndez does have a strong postseason track record, compiling an .826 OPS over 103 games in October. That didn\u2019t really materialize last season, when he hit .250\/.290\/.359 with one homer in 69 playoff plate appearances.<\/p>\n Image courtesy of Michael McLoone, Imagn Images.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n