Dodgers Could Trade $15 Million All-Star Following Kiké Hernandez Signing
The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their busy offseason on Sunday, agreeing to a one-year deal with fan favorite utility man Kiké Hernández.
Hernández, 33, made it clear all offseason he wanted to return to Los Angeles, and even announced the signing himself with a video on social media and the caption: "Walking through the open door."
With Hernández back in Los Angeles — a move that will likely be finalized soon as the Dodgers can now place players on the 60-day injured list — there's now quite a logjam at the back of the Dodgers' active roster.
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Hernández is a shoo-in to make the Opening Day roster barring injury, and he's one of 11 players who are virtual locks, joining Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, Teoscar Hernández, Tommy Edman, Max Muncy, Michael Conforto, Austin Barnes, and Miguel Rojas. Then, there are four players competing for two spots: Hyeseong Kim, Chris Taylor, Andy Pages, and James Outman.
Maren Angus-Coombs of dodgersnation.com thinks the Dodgers could look to the trade market to clear this potential logjam, and she lists Taylor, in his final year of a four-year, $60 million deal, as a potential trade candidate.
"While he does not have a no-trade clause, his contract does include two other things: A $2 million assignment bonus with each trade, plus his 2026 option increases by $1 million if traded after the 2024 season and before start of the 2026 season," Angus-Coombs writes.
In addition to Taylor, Angus-Coombs thinks the Dodgers could look to move Outman or Pages. However, both of them have minor league options available, and Taylor does not.
While trading Taylor could prove difficult considering he's due $15 million this season, he is under his final year of team control, meaning a team isn't taking on any future money. Moreover, the Dodgers would undoubtedly be willing to pay down some of his salary, and would potentially throw in a prospect to entice another team.
On the flip side, though, the Dodgers could just designate Taylor for assignment, and pay the entire $15 million without losing a prospect. However, it may be difficult for the organization to DFA Taylor after all he's done for the organization over the last nine years.
Unfortunately, Taylor isn't the player he once was. And the Dodgers — a team with aspirations of winning a second straight World Series title — know how valuable roster spots can be.
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