Free-agent utility man Kiké Hernández is down to four teams. Here’s how he’d fit

Free-agent super-utility man Kiké Hernández is choosing between four teams, according to sources briefed on his discussions. The finalists, in no particular order, are the Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants.

Hernández, 32, is coming off a rocky season in which he struggled with the Boston Red Sox before getting traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in late July and performing better. His combined slash line for the season, however, was only .237/.289/.357.

On Oct. 24, Hernández underwent double-hernia surgery. His condition helped explain why he wasn’t the same offensively and defensively last season. He was expected to resume baseball activities in late November and be fully ready by spring training.

Here are brief summaries from members of The Athletic staff on how Hernández would fit with each of the four finalists.

Giants

This fit is more about the bat than the glove for the Giants and Hernández, probably. The Giants were 24th-best against lefties last year (about six percent worse than league average). For his career, Hernandez has been 15 percent better than league average in those situations. He represents a right-handed stick with power and patience against left-handed pitchers, at the very least..

The glove does matter, though. Last year was a tough year for Hernández defensively by any metric. But he’s demonstrated a career’s worth of ability at second, shortstop, and center field – with 1000+ innings at each of those positions – and can play any of those in a pinch. For the Giants, the most natural platoon partners are probably Michael Conforto and Mike Yastrzemski in the corner outfield, but history tells us we’ll see Hernández all over the diamond. — Eno Sarris

Padres

The Padres could really use a lefty hitter with power, but they aren’t exactly in a position to be picky, and Hernández would fill another glaring need. At the moment, Fernando Tatis Jr. is San Diego’s only proven starting-caliber outfielder. Jackson Merrill has a good chance of making the team primarily as an outfielder, but he’s a 20-year-old prospect who has spent most of his life playing shortstop. Jurickson Profar’s return finally is official, but the Padres would prefer to use the veteran as more of a bench bat.

Like Profar, Hernández is an early-30s player coming off a poor offensive season. However, the Padres would more confidently project him as a big-league regular, and he can still play center field, where the team’s other options include José Azocar, Jakob Marsee and Merrill, who is learning multiple outfield spots as he tries to break into the majors.

Perhaps just as important: Hernández, at this stage in his career, wouldn’t command a ton of money. The Padres aren’t far from a luxury-tax threshold they would like to avoid crossing, and they need multiple offensive additions and more pitching depth. — Dennis Lin

Angels

The Angels have potentially lost two infielders to…