Dodgers Notebook: Kike Hernández returns, Dave Roberts provided injury updates

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers clubhouse got one of its most important voices back on Monday night. Not just because of versatility on the field, but because of the energy, edge and personality that comes with Kiké Hernández walking back through the doors at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers reinstated Hernández from the injured list ahead of their series opener against the Colorado Rockies and designated infielder/outfielder Santiago Espinal for assignment in the corresponding move.

For Hernández, the return marks the end of a long recovery process after missing the first 53 games of the season with an elbow injury that dated back to last year.

“I feel like I’m ready to go,” Hernández said before Monday’s game. “I think I was in so much pain last year that it helped with the patience.”

The 34-year-old completed 12 rehab games with Triple-A Oklahoma City, batting .214 with two doubles and three RBI, but the Dodgers are far more interested in what he brings beyond the stat line.

Dave Roberts said Hernández will move all over the diamond immediately, getting opportunities at both second and third base while also potentially seeing time in the outfield and serving as a right-handed bat off the bench.

That flexibility has always defined Hernández’s value. But this return carries a different tone.

Last season, Hernández admitted he tried to gut through the elbow pain for months before finally reaching a breaking point on July 4. He recalled looking at video of his swing on an iPad, seeing both the mechanics and declining numbers, then walking into Roberts’ office with the realization that he could not continue playing through it.

According to Hernández, orthopedic surgeon Neal ElAttrache later told him it was one of the worst versions of that injury he had ever seen in a player still trying to compete.

Hernández laughed while recounting that he immediately FaceTimed Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and made ElAttrache repeat the diagnosis.

Now healthy, Hernández said “the clown in the clubhouse” is officially back.

And for a Dodgers team dealing with injuries, lineup inconsistency and stretches of uneven play, that may matter more than ever.

Hernández acknowledged this was the first spring training he has ever fully missed and admitted it is also the first time in his career he has truly started feeling older physically. Still, his leadership presence remains unchanged.

“If I F with you, it’s because I F with you,” Hernández said when describing his style of leadership and tough love inside the clubhouse.

It is a role teammates have come to expect from the veteran utilityman whose locker sits immediately to the right of the clubhouse entrance, a spot that naturally turns him into one of the first voices players hear every day.

Latest from Dave Roberts on injuries

The Dodgers are also inching closer to getting more reinforcements back.

Roberts said Tommy Edman will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday, though the expectation is he will likely use the full three-week rehab window before returning.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers are hopeful Max Muncy can avoid a stint on the injured list entirely. Roberts said the hope is still for Muncy to return to the lineup by Wednesday.

On the pitching side, Tyler Glasnow has resumed playing catch, while reliever Edwin Díaz is expected to begin a throwing progression on Tuesday.

For now, though, the loudest boost came from Hernández’s return.

The Dodgers did not just add another utility player Monday night. They welcomed back one of the emotional engines of the clubhouse, a player whose value has never fit neatly into a box score.