Dodgers notes: Kiké Hernández, Tommy Pham, Russell Martin

Free agency is coming this week, with a dozen Doodgers set to hit the open market either Thursday, Saturday, or Sunday — at 6 a.m. PT the day after the World Series ends.

One of those players is Kiké Hernández, who in an interview last week with Foul Territory said he’s more willing to re-sign with the Dodgers this time around than he was three years ago.

“I’m definitely more open [to re-signing] than I was in ‘20. In ‘20 it was a for-sure no because I was looking for an opportunity to play everyday somewhere else, and their roster was a little different,” Hernández said. “Their roster was a little deeper back then, and it was harder to get consistent at-bats. I went there this year not thinking I would play as much as I did.

“It’s going to be just like the last time, all about fit. the right place. These are not things that are that easy to take into consideration, especially now that I have a kid. I’m not opposed to coming back [to the Dodgers], but I’m also not closing doors on 29 other teams.”

The Dodgers acquired Hernández from the Red Sox on July 25 ostensibly to play against left-handed pitching, which he did, starting in all 22 games against southpaw starters after joining Los Angeles. But he also started 20 times against right-handed pitchers, and also started in Game 3 of the NLDS against right-hander Brandon Pfaadt.

Hernández’s familiar versatility was apparent, and helped getting him into the lineup more often, as he started at every position except catcher and pitcher in just over two months back in Los Angeles, while hitting .262/.308/.423 with a 96 wRC+.

Diamondbacks outfielder Tommy Pham had four hits in Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday, matching his total from Game 1 of the NLDS against the Dodgers. Pham said he was interested in signing with Los Angeles during the offseason, but that interest was not reciprocated. From Jorge Castillo at the Los Angeles Times:

As Pham addressed it at Thursday’s World Series media day, he instructed his agent to call Andrew Friedman twice during the offseason when he was looking for a job. During the process, he said he heard from Dodgers players he knew telling him to try to make joining Los Angeles happen. Both times, according to Pham, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations said no.

Also last week on Foul Territory, former catcher Russell Martin talked about his career, coming up through the minors and into the majors with a slew of Dodgers prospects, and hitting a double in the 2006 NLDS that resulted in two outs at the plate, among many other things.