By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Cesar Hernandez has been the Philadelphia Phillies most consistent hitter the past two seasons, but with top prospect Scott Kingery lingering, Hernandez's name will again come up in trade rumors this offseason.
The latest comes from Pedro Moura of The Los Angeles Times, who says that Los Angeles Angels have kept tabs on Hernandez as they search for a second baseman:
The Angels’ front-office contingent will arrive at this week’s general managers meetings in Orlando, Fla., with one clear and present need: a second baseman.
A trade is possible. The Angels have filled infield vacancies in each of the last two seasons via deals with Washington, and they extensively examined Philadelphia’s Cesar Hernandez this season.
This, of course, isn't the first time that Hernandez's name has come up in trade rumors. Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reported last offseason that the Phillies "put Hernandez in play" on the trade market, but did so at a very high price. In fact, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reported last December that the Angels had checked in on Hernandez, but were unwilling to meet the asking price that the Phillies had.
Nearly a year later, it's not especially clear what has changed. The Angels still need a second baseman, but Hernandez slashed .294/.373/.421 with 150 hits, 15 stolen bases and a team-high 61 walks. Hernandez fields his position well, and still seems to have untapped potential as a basestealer. On top of that, he's only 27 and remains under team control through 2020.
Related: Pitching-needy Phillies should be aggressive on trade-market at GM meetings
At some point, Kingery will either come up and the Phillies will have to either move Hernandez to another position, make him an overqualified bench piece or trade him. But Kevin Cooney of The Athletic reported Monday that the Phillies don't feel rushed to alleviate the surplus of infielding talent that they have.
So if a team like the Angels offers the right return for Hernandez this offseason – which would probably be a package of pitchers – then Hernandez will be moved. If not, it's not inconceivable that he could lead off for the Phillies on Opening Day 2018, with Kingery still at Triple-A while the Phillies attempt to manipulate his service time.
