Dodgers utility man Kiké Hernández is back, activated off the injured list on Tuesday as expected before the start of a series against the Seattle Mariners at Dodger Stadium. Alex Freeland was the odd man out, optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Hernández’s season now includes two long stints on the injured list. He missed the first 53 games of the season after elbow surgery last November, and has missed the last 51 games with a left oblique strain. In between, he’s working on a perfect season, with four hits in his four at-bats thus far, including a home run and two doubles.
In seven games on a rehab assignment with Oklahoma City, Hernández hit .333/.320/.542 with two doubles and a home run. He split his time with three games each at third base and in left field, plus once at first base.
Freeland has played sparingly of late, with his last start coming on July 7. In the Dodgers’ 13 games since he’s only played in five of them, totaling five plate appearances, going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts.
On the season, Freeland hit .231/.309/.313 with a 76 wRC+, seven doubles, and three home runs in 72 games. The switch-hitter has performed better from the left side, hitting .249/.330/339 with an 89 wRC+, while collecting only four hits in 30 at-bats while batting right-handed.
Freeland started 59 games at second base, with four Defensive Runs Saved and three Outs Above Average, the latter in the 85th percentile in MLB.
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