The Minnesota Twins are eyeing a reigning World Series champion to fill out their infield depth for the 2021 season.
At the conclusion of the 2020 regular-season, the Minnesota Twins narrowly managed to hold onto the AL Central crown and secured the second-seed in the AL for the postseason. They had a supposedly easy matchup against the struggling Houston Astros. Instead, they were swept in two games in the Wild-Card Round, proving that they can lose to teams not named the New York Yankees in the playoffs. The Twins are looking to improve their roster for the 2021 season, and are unsurprisingly eyeing the defending World Series champions — the Los Angeles Dodgers.
According to Darren Wolfson of KSTP.com, the Twins have expressed interest in Dodgers infielder Kiké Hernandez this Hot Stove season.
Hernandez fits what the Twins are looking for
Woflson’s tweet comes in response to sportswriter Peter Gammons, who linked Hernandez to Minnesota on Saturday. Gammons says the Twins need a utilityman who possesses strong defending skills, and can hit against left-handed pitchers. In his mind, the Dodgers fan favorite checks all the boxes for the Twins.
Hernandez played in 48 regular-season games for the Dodgers this season, where he slashed .230/.270/.410 with five home runs and 20 RBI. In terms of defense, Hernandez was tied for first in defensive runs saved (eight) among all second baseman in the MLB, per FanGraphs.
In the postseason, Hernandez recorded a .214 batting average and .755 OPS, while recording four RBI in 28 at-bats. But against left-handed pitchers, the versatile utilityman slashed .300/.364/.900, with two home runs in 10 plate appearances. Noticing a trend here? His biggest moment of the Dodgers’ run to the World Series came in Game 7 of the NLCS, where he hit a pinch-hit, solo home run off Atlanta Braves left-hander A.J. Minter.
Hernandez has proven during his six seasons with the Dodgers that he’s a tremendous option off the bench. The Twins are in need of someone who can hit against southpaws, as evidenced by their .236 team batting average against them in the 2020 regular-season. Hernandez fits the bill, but it will remain to be seen if Minnesota can finalize a deal, or if they’ll watch him sign with another team.