Following the retirement of Chase Utley and departure of Brian Dozier in free agency this past winter, the Los Angeles Dodgers were left without a clearcut starter at second base entering the 2019 MLB season.
Rather than fill the void with an outside acquisition, the club was confident they could do so internally. Utility players Kiké Hernandez and Chris Taylor jumped out as the two leading candidates and battled for the starting job all throughout Spring Training.
Hernandez eventually won out in the end and was formally named the Dodgers’ everyday second baseman ahead of the start of the regular season.