Signing Enrique Hernandez would be a huge get for Minnesota Twins

According to Ken Rosenthal and other insiders at The Athletic, Minnesota is one of four finalists that remain in the running for Hernandez, who — like other big named veterans with plenty of good years still ahead of them — still finds himself available on the free agency market.

Free-agent super-utility man Kiké Hernández is choosing between four teams, according to sources briefed on his discussions. The finalists, in no particular order, are the Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants.

Ken Rosenthal, Dennis Lin and more – The Athletic

So how long are we going to be waiting for Kike Hernandez to make his decision? Not long. Just hours before Rosenthal and Co. wrote their piece, Mark Feinsand (MLB Network) reported that Hernandez would be making his decision sometime either today or Monday.

Why Kike Hernandez is a great fit for the Twins

There are a lot of baseball people doubting Hernandez after a “down year”. But didn’t every player in Boston the last season or two underperform to expectations? Clearly, there has been something brewing in Beantown’s baseball organization recently that has led to their fall from grace.

Once Hernandez got to LA, his numbers returned to what they had been prior to falling off the past two seasons with the Red Sox. His average jumped .040 points, his OPS skyrocketed back into the .700s and he started to do what he has always done best. Drive in runs. In 86 games with Boston, Hernandez drove in 31 runners. In a much smaller sample size as a Dodger (remember 54 from earlier), he drove in 30.

Baseball-Reference

And therein lies the key for Kike Hernandez, whose career numbers will not blow you away until you peak at his RBI count. For a guy with a career batting average of .239 and career OPS+ of just 93 (below average), the 32-year-old Puerto Rican drives in a lot of runs.

Hernandez has piled up 50 or more RBI in four of the past six seasons. The only two he didn’t (2020, 2022), he played less than 100 games. In 2022, he still managed 45 RBI in 93 games played. Last season, ‘in a down year’, he racked up 61.

The Minnesota Twins need a bat they can drop in the middle of the lineup who has proven he can drive in runs at a high clip. They could also use high end veteran talent to platoon in the outfield and put in games as a designated hitter. Kike Hernandez may be a better fit than any in those areas.