The Los Angeles Dodgers have been busy this winter.
After a $1 billion offseason ahead of the 2024 campaign, the team has now agreed to a $182 million contract with two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and a $74 million deal with utility man Tommy Edman.
But with slugging outfielder Teoscar Hernández hitting free agency after a single strong season in LA, the Dodgers will need to grant him a new contract if they’d like to bring him back for next season and beyond. In a roundup of predictions following the winter meetings, Rowan Kavner of FOX Sports projected that the Dodgers will indeed lock him up to a multiyear deal.
“Hernández took a one-year contract in Los Angeles last season hoping to play for a winner and re-establish his value. He went from posting a .741 OPS in 2023 in Seattle to a .840 OPS in 2024 in a bounce-back year in Los Angeles,” Kavner wrote. “Prediction: Hernández returns to Dodgers on three-year deal.”
Hernández slashed .272/.339/.501 with 33 homers, an All-Star nod, a Silver Slugger Award and Most Valuable Player Award votes in his 2024 campaign with the Dodgers. As a result, reuniting with him, even on a relatively short contract, won’t be cheap. Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report projected that Hernández could earn a $100 million deal going forward.
He could be negotiating with any number of suitors in need of a hard-hitting outfielder this winter, including big-market teams like the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. But, given his value in a key defensive position for the Dodgers and the benefits of hitting in a lineup among stars like Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani, Kavner noted that a reunion with the Dodgers seems like the most likely outcome.
“Hernández has expressed a desire to return to Los Angeles and called the Dodgers ‘the priority’ after serving as a key cog in the middle of their championship lineup,” he added. “That remains the likeliest conclusion as the two sides remain engaged about a potential return, but his market should heat up after outfield-needy teams missed out on Juan Soto.”
Hernández could be one of the beneficiaries of Soto’s blockbuster $765 million agreement with the New York Mets, which set a new ceiling for baseball contracts in general and put a premium price on outfield production. Given the Dodgers’ range of significant financial commitments, it’s possible that they could be priced out on a new deal for Hernández.
But the team seems committed to adding, rather than subtracting, in hopes of a repeat World Series championship for next season. Bringing Hernández back could go a long way in those hopes for a repeat.
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