Kiké Hernández nearly had his second half of the season wiped out due to an elbow injury, but he managed to stick around until the very end, adding another incredible postseason highlight to his already impressive resume.

Hernández was coming off of another subpar offensive season in 2024, but took over as the primary third baseman when Max Muncy was sidelined for three months due to an oblique issue. He played a crucial role in helping the Dodgers win the World Series, slashing .294/.357/.451 across the postseason, with his most notable moments being a home run against Yu Darvish that made the difference in Game 5 of the NLDS against the San Diego Padres and a single against Gerrit Cole that kickstarted the Dodgers comeback in Game 5 of the World Series.

Hernández signed a one-year deal to return to the Dodgers for the second straight offseason, and he started his year strong with a home run in the Tokyo Series. With Freddie Freeman still nursing his right ankle, Hernández filled in as the go-to first base option, getting a total of 10 starts in Freeman’s absence.

Hernández struggled out of the gate once the Dodgers returned stateside, hitting just .111 over his first 10 games, yet all of his hits came via home runs. He continued to slump throughout the first month of the season, but he found his stride at the plate during the team’s series in Miami, and over his final 18 games in the month of May, he slashed .319/.385/.489 with a pair of home runs.

The Dodgers bullpen was heavily overtaxed to begin the season, and during blowout games such as the Dodgers 18-2 win over the Yankees, Hernández was brought in to pitch, appearing on the mound four times throughout the season. He joined teammate Shohei Ohtani as the only two players in baseball to hit at least 10 home runs while making at least four pitching appearances.

Hernández’s bat began to taper off once the calendar flipped to June, as he slashed just .119/.196/.167 over 23 games and mired in a 32 game home run drought. Things only got worse once July hit, as after appearing in just three games while going hitless in nine plate appearances before landing on the injured list with left elbow inflammation. Hernández revealed on his social media after season’s end that he suffered a tear in his elbow in May, and playing through the injury caused the bone to break. Hernández made his return after a seven week absence on Aug. 26, playing in another 20 games to end the regular season to the tune of a .200/.227/.350 slash line with a pair of home runs and 12 driven in.

As the postseason approached, the Dodgers had to make a decision about their corner outfield, considering Michael Conforto, whom the Dodgers signed to a $17 million deal, had a disappointing season where he hit .199 with just 12 home runs across 138 games. The Dodgers ultimately decided to leave Conforto off of every postseason series roster, and Hernández received the lion’s share of starts in left field.

Hernández began to embrace the role of baseball’s new “Mr. October,” as he entered the 2025 postseason with a career .278/.353/.522 slash line with 15 home runs and 35 RBI in 86 career postseason games. By playing in his 87th postseason game with the Dodgers in Game 2 of the World Series, Hernández passed former Dodgers and Red Sox teammate Justin Turner for the most postseason games by a single Dodger in franchise history.

Hernández somewhat underwhelmed offensively throughout the postseason outside of a home run against Trey Yesavage in Game 5 of the World Series, but his real impact came on defense. In the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 6 of the World Series, Hernández made a running catch on a line drive hit from Andrés Giménez. Hernández successfully nabbed Addison Barger retreating to second base, completing a game-ending double play that prolonged the Dodgers’ season for another game.

2025 particulars

Age: 33

Stats: .203/.255/.366, 10 HR, 35 RBI, 8 2B, 30 R, 70 wRC+, -0.1 rWAR, -0.2 fWAR, 93 G

Postseason: .250/.290/.359, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 4 2B, 9 R, 17 G

Salary: $6,500,000

Game of the year

In the penultimate game of the regular season against the Seattle Mariners, Hernández had a three-hit game after homering the game prior, driving in two runs and hitting two doubles in a 5-3 Dodgers victory. His performance helped raise his season batting average back over .200, and the three games against Seattle served as a final tune up for his run in the postseason.