JUST IN: Dodgers Free Agent Teoscar Hernandez Drawing Interest From…
Teoscar Hernández was incredibly productive on his one-year deal with the Dodgers, and earned a Silver Slugger Award on Tuesday for his season, the third of his career. Now he’s a free agent, and figures to cash in with the multi-year contract he did not find last offseason.
Hernández has made no secret that the Dodgers are his preferred destination, though at least a handful of other teams are interested in the services of the outfielder who turns 33 in October.
During the championship celebration at Dodger Stadium on November 1, Hernández was choked up with the reception he received from the crowd. He reflected on that moment with MLB Network on Tuesday.
“This was my seventh year in the big leagues, and I’ve never had a moment like that, where everybody was trying to give me that love, that they’ve been giving me all year,” Hernández said. “That was incredible, I’ve never had that before. I’m an emotional guy, so that gets me really bad.”
Hernández got $23.5 million on his one-year deal with the Dodgers, with $8.5 million deferred to 2030-39, which lowered the net present value of the deal to roughly $20.4 million for competitive balance tax purposes. He earned a $1 million bonus by winning a Silver Slugger Award, and could earn more money if he finishes in the top 15 in National League MVP voting, too.
He will certainly receive a multi-year contract this time around. Hernández in various free agent rankings is rated 11th (The Athletic, FanGraphs, and MLB Trade Rumors), 13th (ESPN), and 15th (MLB.com), with the only outfielders ahead of him on the lists Juan Soto (at the tippy top of the entire market) and Anthony Santander.
The contract projections have a decent range to them, but the ones I’ve seen are predict three years for Hernández:
3 years, $72 million (Ben Clemens at FanGraphs)
3 years, $69 million (Tim Britton at The Athletic)
3 years, $69 million (FanGraphs crowdsourcing)
3 years, $66 million (Kiley McDaniel at ESPN)
3 years, $60 million (the folks at MLB Trade Rumors)
Hernández got a qualifying offer from the Dodgers, and that one-year, $21.05 million deal will get rejected next Tuesday unless he signs somewhere before then. Should Hernández sign elsewhere, the Dodgers will receive a compensatory 2025 draft pick after the fourth round.
The Dodgers will obviously inquire on Soto, but they also remain interested in retaining Hernández. With Mookie Betts most likely moving back to the infield in 2025, acquiring a corner outfielder is definitely on LA’s wish list this offseason.
For what it’s worth, 42 of 52 MLB.com writers predicted the Dodgers will re-sign Hernández, but maybe somewhere Max Muncy could be muttering just how much such predictions actually matter.
