Outfielder Teoscar Hernández played a significant role in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2024 World Series championship campaign. Will the 33-year-old slugger stay or bolt for a new team this winter?
The expectation across baseball since free agency opened was for Hernández to re-sign with the Dodgers. It was even expected for the player and team to agree on a new deal rather quickly. But as each day passes, other interested teams have an opportunity to steal the right-handed slugger away from Los Angeles.
Fresh off winning his third Silver Slugger Award after posting a .840 OPS with 33 home runs, 99 RBI and 84 runs scored in 652 plate appearances, several teams have shown interest in him. Three American League East squads have been connected to Hernández, including the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays.
Which of these three has the greatest chance of convincing Hernández to leave Hollywood? ESPN's David Schoenfield predicts it'll be the Blue Jays who get a deal done with the slugger.
"Knowing how much the Dodgers care about defense, it seems unlikely that they'll go with both Hernández and (Michael) Conforto in the corners," Schoenfield wrote. "So maybe that pushes Hernández back to Toronto, where he played for five seasons as a regular, including an All-Star season in 2021. The Jays clearly need offense and pursued (Juan) Soto to fill a hole in the outfield, so Hernández is a reasonable backup plan."
Schoenfield is also projecting that Hernández will land a three-year, $66 million contract.
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