The Best is Yet to Come: Toescar Hernandez Eventual Signing will Shake Up…

The winter meetings are over, and the Dodgers signed an outfielder. But that outfielder wasn’t Teoscar Hernández, who by many accounts wants to return to Los Angeles and the Dodgers would love to have him back. It just hasn’t happened yet, as Hernández is still a free agent as of Thursday morning.

Michael Conforto was the outfielder who did sign with the Dodgers, getting a one-year deal for $17 million. That move did not rule out the Dodgers still adding another outfielder, like a reunion with Hernández for instance, especially with Mookie Betts preparing to play shortstop in 2025.

Juan Soto is already off the board, having joined the Mets on the richest contract ever, which hasn’t yet opened up the floodgates for other outfielder deals. It makes logical sense that teams that missed out on Soto would likely be interested in the services of Hernández to fill that outfield need. Hernández and Anthony Santander were the two non-Soto outfielders rated among the top 15 free agents when the offseason began.

More potential suitors would drive up the price on Hernández, who is sure to receive a lucrative multi-year deal that eluded him a year ago.

“He put himself in a very good position as a free agent in his walk year, having a very productive year,” Roberts said of Hernández Monday at the winter meetings. “He’s got some decisions to make as well, so he’s going to kind of suss those out. It’d be hard for me not to see him coming back.”

Over the course of the winter meetings in Dallas, various Dodgers present were asked about Hernández. This is from president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman on Monday, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times:

“I know that he has talked about wanting to [stay in Los Angeles], I know that we have talked about wanting him to, so again, that’s helpful — but it’s not everything,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “He and his family get to go through the interest and figure out what makes the most sense for them. So, while we’re hopeful, at the same time, if he ends up signing somewhere else, we have no choice but to wish him well.”

A similar sentiment emerged on Tuesday, when general manager Brandon Gomes was a guest on MLB Network.

“Teo was incredible for us, both on the field, off the field, the impact he had in the clubhouse with younger guys. Those are conversations we’ll continue to have,” Gomes said. “We were lucky enough to add Michael, and we’ll keep looking to add talent wherever we can.”

These comments are a bit like Schrödinger’s cat, in that they could be interpreted in multiple ways. Gomes used past tense when mentioning Hernández, so that could mean the Dodgers don’t think he’ll return. Or, he was simply referring to the championship-winning season Hernández already had with Los Angeles.

It’s important to note that the question that prompted the quoted response from Gomes was whether there was room to bring back Hernández after signing Conforto. Similarly, Roberts was prompted Monday with a question of how difficult might it be if the Dodgers were to lose Hernández.

Fact is, Hernández hasn’t signed yet, and the Dodgers are still likely to add another outfielder.

Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic on Tuesday wrote, “The Dodgers remain focused on potentially adding another corner outfielder, particularly re-signing Teoscar Hernández.”

Harris in the LA Times on Wednesday added, “The sides continued to talk this week, according to people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly, and are believed to be close enough in negotiations that a deal remains possible.”

In other words, just because the Dodgers haven’t yet signed Hernández doesn’t mean they won’t. This is just how negotiations go sometimes.