In accordance with impartial reporter Francys Romero, the Dodgers are among the many groups presently “monitoring” the marketplace for outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, although they aren’t thought of the favourite to in the end land him. The report comes almost two months after the membership first expressed interest within the slugger’s companies initially of the offseason.
After all, lots has modified for the Dodgers since that preliminary report. L.A. has been by far the busiest membership of the offseason so far as they’ve landed prime free brokers Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto whereas additionally swinging a commerce for and lengthening right-hander Tyler Glasnow. Whereas the membership’s flashiest acquisitions don’t overlap considerably with Hernandez, the Dodgers did purchase outfielder Manuel Margot as a part of the Glasnow commerce. With Margot now within the fold, the membership seems more likely to platoon him and veteran Jason Heyward (who re-signed with the membership final month) in Hernandez’s native proper subject which solid at the very least some uncertainty on the membership’s curiosity in his companies.
Given the huge adjustments to the membership’s roster in latest weeks, the Dodgers’ continued curiosity in Hernandez is considerably notable whilst they aren’t presently thought of to be the favourite to land him. With Ohtani locked in because the membership’s on a regular basis DH, Heyward and Margot more likely to man proper subject, and James Outman poised to begin his sophomore season in heart, Hernandez would doubtless wind up as L.A.’s on a regular basis left fielder if he in the end signed with the membership.
The Dodgers don’t have any established on a regular basis left fielder, although the job is seemingly poised to go to veteran Chris Taylor if an exterior addition on the place isn’t made. Taylor put collectively a decent season in 2023 that noticed him slash a league common .237/.326/.420 whereas splitting time between shortstop, second base, third base, left subject, and heart subject. If Hernandez or one other common outfielder is added, that may permit the Dodgers to maintain Taylor in his present position as a semi-regular who shores up the membership’s depth throughout the diamond.
Whereas the Dodgers sported MLB’s third-best offense final season with a team-wise wRC+ of 116, the membership’s manufacturing in left subject was truly nicely under common as David Peralta mixed with Taylor to begin all however 29 video games on the place final yr. The membership’s collective manufacturing from left subject was simply 96, inserting them twentieth within the majors and bottom-five within the NL for the 2023 season. Hernandez, as a profession 117 wRC+ hitter who slashed a whopping .283/.333/.519 from 2020-22, might show to be a top quality center of the order bat for LA even after a down season in 2023. With that being mentioned, even Hernandez’s diminished 105 wRC+ this previous season would characterize a reasonably notable enchancment over Peralta, who slashed simply .259/.294/.381 in 422 journeys to the plate final yr.
That blend of a comparatively secure ground and tantalizing upside earned Hernandez the twelfth spot on MLBTR’s annual Top 50 MLB free agents list, the place we projected him for a four-year, $80M contract. Whereas that’s removed from an insignificant sum, it’s a relative pittance to a membership that’s dedicated over $1 billion complete to Ohtani and Yamamoto alone, whilst deferred cash lowers the present-day monetary impression of these offers. RosterResource presently tasks the Dodgers for a $286M payroll in 2024 however they determine have way more flexibility than that franchise-record determine would point out due to the huge deferrals in Ohtani’s contract, which pays him simply $2M in 2024.
After all, the Dodgers are removed from the one membership identified to be interested by Hernandez with each the membership’s native rivals in Anaheim and the Purple Sox among those pursuing the 31-year-old slugger. Then again, Hernandez just isn’t the one nook bat out there, although he figures to be a greater match for the Dodgers than Jorge Soler due to Ohtani’s presence at DH whereas providing extra impression than the likes of Adam Duvall and Tommy Pham.
