Kiké Hernández didn’t have a lot of time to pack and say goodbye to his Red Sox teammates after getting traded to the Dodgers on Tuesday. But Justin Turner made sure to share some parting words with him before he got on a plane to Los Angeles.
Hernández and Turner were teammates for six years with the Dodgers, winning a World Series together in 2020. Hernández helped bring Turner to Boston ahead of the 2023 season and acted as the lead recruiter.
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Once Hernández got word he’d been traded to LA, Turner — who tweeted three sad-face emojis after the trade — made sure to seek him out in order to say goodbye.
“This might be TMI but it was in the shower,” Hernández told reporters before his Dodgers debut Wednesday. “I was getting showered, he was fully dressed. So one of us was naked while giving the hug to the other one. But no, we have a lot of history together. We were teammates for seven years. And I possibly was the main reason why he went to Boston, or I was the one that got the whole ball rolling with the front office and stuff to make things happen.
“For me to take him there and then for me to get traded midseason, of course it’s tough, this is a business and you think you get used to these type of things,” he added. “… We’re still human and we still care about each other. And when we’re really close friends the way we are it’s really hard. I’m glad its 2023 and we have all the technology in the world. … I get to see him in a couple of weeks. …”
The Dodgers come to Fenway Park for a three-game set beginning Aug. 25, and he’ll get to say goodbye to those he wasn’t able to before leaving Boston on Tuesday.
Hernández went 2-for-4 in the Dodgers’ 8-1 loss to the Blue Jays. In Turner’s first game without Hernández as his Red Sox teammate, he delivered a clutch go-ahead double to help Boston erase its deficit and sweep the Braves.
