The Los Angeles Dodgers have already been active this winter, but one highly-anticipated move hasn’t yet been made.
Acquiring Blake Snell was a home run for the Dodgers, and bringing back Blake Treinen gave them the bullpen security they needed. But not only has Teoscar Hernández not yet re-signed with LA, but the Dodgers already brought in a potential replacement in Michael Conforto.
Having Conforto on a one-year, $17 million deal doesn’t preclude the Dodgers from bringing Hernández back. But it does indicate that the Dodgers are at least preparing for the possibility that the two-time All-Star slugger could be considering other teams.
After a career-high 33 home runs, Hernández is either the number-one or two outfielder left on the board, depending on how one feels about Anthony Santander. And the Dodgers may well have less urgency to lock him up than other teams with lesser offenses will.
On Tuesday, David Schoenfield of ESPN predicted that Hernández would re-sign with the Toronto Blue Jays, for whom he played from 2017 to 2022, on a three-year, $66 million contract.
“At the start of the offseason, there seemed to be an assumption Hernandez would return to the (Los Angeles) Dodgers… but the two sides are reportedly far apart — and the Dodgers signed Michael Conforto, another corner outfielder with subpar defensive metrics,” Schoenfield said.
“So maybe that pushes Hernandez 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 Hernandez is a reasonable backup plan.”
After a 74-win season, the Blue Jays know they have to do something drastic to not only increase their odds at a playoff berth, but to convince superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to sign an extension.
That may well make Toronto more desperate to sign Hernández than the Dodgers will be, despite all the fond memories from this year’s World Series run. But until pen is put to paper, hope for a reunion is still alive.
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