Toescar’s Future in the Air: $66 Million Changes Everything

The Los Angeles Dodgers were once the obvious favorites to sign outfielder Teoscar Hernández. But in recent weeks, the tide has seemed to change.

The Dodgers were reportedly close to finalizing a deal with the fan favorite on the eve of the Winter Meetings. But things quickly changed after Juan Soto was taken off the board.

All the teams that lost out on Soto pivoted to Hernández. While the Dodgers remain the favorite, another contender has emerged as a close second, as first reported by Dodgers Nation: The Toronto Blue Jays.

ESPN’s David Schoenfield recently predicted Hernández won’t return to the Dodgers, but instead will rejoin Toronto.

“At the start of the offseason, there seemed to be an assumption Hernandez would return to the Dodgers after he made such a huge impact both on the field and in the clubhouse, but the two sides are reportedly far apart — and the Dodgers signed Michael Conforto, another corner outfielder with subpar defensive metrics,” Schoenfield wrote. “Knowing how much the Dodgers care about defense, it seems unlikely that they’ll go with both Hernandez and Conforto in the corners. 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 Soto to fill a hole in the outfield, so Hernandez is a reasonable backup plan.”

However, another MLB insider believes Hernández will stay in Los Angeles.

“I think Teoscar Hernández comes back,” Bob Nightengale told Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain. “He loved playing with the Dodgers, and you saw during the postseason, during the parade, everybody raved about what a great teammate he was. So, I think Teoscar Hernández is back, and then you kind of fill in from there. But, you know, if Teoscar Hernández decides not to come back, they’ll grab someone else. There’s certainly enough outfielders out there. They do have some depth with the returning guys they have.”

There have been conflicting predictions about Hernández’s fate in free agency, but fans should know his final decision in the coming weeks. For now, though, it’s clear that a reunion between Hernández and the Dodgers is far from a sure thing.