The Los Angeles Dodgers announced several key moves on Monday afternoon, essentially trading away center fielder Manuel Margot to make room for super-utilityman Enrique Hernandez.
The Margot deal also involved sending minor league infielder Rayne Doncon and cash considerations to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for minor league infielder Noah Miller.
The 21-year-old Miller hit .223 with eight homers and 60 RBI for High-A Cedar Rapids last season in the Twins organization. He was named a Minor League Rawlings Gold Glove winner last year at shortstop after recording a .984 fielding percentage with 295 assists and 54 double plays.
Known for his stellar defense, the switch-hitting Miller has been with the Twins for three seasons, hitting a combined .220 with 12 homers and 98 RBI in 250 minor league games. He was originally drafted by the Twins with the 36th overall pick of the 2021 MLB draft out of Ozaukee High School in Wisconsin.
Margot, 28, was acquired by the Dodgers with Tyler Glasnow from Tampa Bay Rays last December. Margot played in two Spring Training games, going 0-for-6 with one strikeout. Last season, he appeared in 99 regular-seaon games for the Rays, slashing .264/.310/.376 with four homers and 38 RBI.
The 20-year-old Doncon hit 20 homers and drove in 52 runs in 107 games for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2023. The righty hitter spent three seasons with the Dodgers organization, hitting .237 with 29 homers and 113 RBI in 200 games.
He was originally signed by the Dodgers as an international free agent in January 2021 out of San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. Last year, Doncon saw time at second base, third base and shortstop.
The Hernandez deal is reportedly a one-year contract worth $4 million.
The 32-year-old Hernandez spent 2015 to 2020 with the Dodgers as the team’s primary utility player, seeing time at essentially every position but catcher. During that time, he hit .240/.312/.425 with 68 homers.
Before arriving back to Los Angeles last year, Hernandez hit .222/.291/.338 and finished the season slashing .262/.308/.423 with the Dodgers.
Think Blue Planning Committee 
Kike has always been great in the clubhouse. Dynamic personality and can play several positions. Signing Kike to me is a sign they r not as high on Vargas as they claim. Great so far watching the young pitching talent. This is an incredible team we shall see if it brings a championship.
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I don’t know that signing Kike says all that much about Vargas except that they don’t plan to have him start the season in L.A. If the plan is for him to ultimately become the left fielder, he probably needs a lot of reps at that position in OKC.
Kike’s deal is only for a year, so again, I’m not sure that says all that much about Vargas.
To me, Doncon has a lot more offensive upside than Miller, but he may not stay at shortstop and Miller is a very good defensive shortstop. Maybe he’ll ultimately be Rojas’ replacement.
Kike, as you point out, is great in the clubhouse and is more versatile than Margot. I suppose that ultimately is why AF made the trade. The cost is basically the same because if we add Kike’s salary to what we’re sending the Twins in cash, it basically comes out to about the same as we would have paid Margot..
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Never liked Margot anyway, so his being traded does not bother me one bit. As for bringing back Kike, I think it signals that the Dodgers are not entirely comfortable with Vargas being the everyday left fielder. I also think Kike is a redundant piece since he is Taylor squared. But he is a fun guy to watch. Margot actually better against lefties than Kike.
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