Doubt will continue to creep in for the Los Angeles Dodgers with each passing day that their star outfielder remains unsigned.
Teoscar Hernández was fantastic for the Dodgers in 2024, and he and any Dodgers personnel who have been asked all say that a reunion is the preferred outcome. Yet so far, there’s been little progress on that front.
Last week, it was reported that Hernández was seeking a three-year contract between $22 million and $24 million in average annual value. That means a minimum estimate for what it would take for the Dodgers to bring him back is roughly $66 million.
Why, then, are the Dodgers dragging their feet? No one can say with certainty, but one Major League Baseball insider doesn’t believe they’ve waited too long to hurt their chances just yet.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic re-installed the Dodgers as the favorites to sign Hernández Monday on his Fair Territory podcast.
“I still expect them (Dodgers) to sign Teoscar Hernández,” Rosenthal said.
“This is seemingly the dance the two sides are going through. It’s taking much longer than it should have. Teoscar wants to be back, the Dodgers want him back. I’m not exactly sure what the problem is.”
Hernández, 32, signed a one-year, $23.5 million deal before the season, coming off a down year. He rebounded spectacularly, posting a career-high 33 home runs, an .840 OPS, an All-Star selection, and a World Series ring.
The market for position players hasn’t been fantastic this winter, and Hernández may have hoped more would be out there for him than he’s currently finding. But the good news for the Dodgers, clearly, is that he hasn’t found it anywhere else, either.
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