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Whereas Dodger Stadium has one thing of a pitcher-friendly status itself, it stands to motive that the 31-year-old Hernandez would possibly get again on observe in a brand new atmosphere, and this one-year deal would possibly mirror his need to re-establish himself earlier than committing to a longer-term contract.
MLB Commerce Rumors ranked Hernandez twelfth on our checklist of the winter’s top 50 free agents and projected him for a four-year, $80M deal, underneath the logic that the offseason’s lack of premium bats would nonetheless result in an enormous contract for Hernandez even within the wake of an underwhelming 2023 marketing campaign.
It may be the case that Hernandez was open to a one-year pact particularly to hitch the Dodgers, because the outfielder is now becoming a member of arguably baseball’s most loaded lineup.
Los Angeles already racked up loads of runs of their 100-win 2023 marketing campaign, and that highly effective assortment of place gamers has now added Shohei Ohtani to the DH spot and Hernandez to a nook outfield position.
Hernandez now will get to hitch a contender and presumably win a World Sequence ring, whereas ideally posting a greater platform 12 months that might enable him to attain an enormous multi-year contract subsequent winter. The Angels and Pink Sox have been two different groups identified to be within the working for Hernandez’s providers, and reporter Francys Romero and MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo every relayed that these groups had curiosity within the outfielder on two-year offers. In Boston’s case, Cotillo wrote that the Sox have been focused on one thing akin to a two-year, $28M pact.
Hernandez now seems to be to be the Dodgers’ on a regular basis possibility primarily in left subject, although he may slide over to proper subject when a left-hander is on the mound (thus sending Jason Heyward to the bench).
L.A. remains to be maybe just a little unbalanced with left-handed hitters in its first-choice lineup, but Hernandez now joins Mookie Betts and Will Smith as large righty swingers, plus the Dodgers produce other right-handed bats in Chris Taylor, Manuel Margot and Miguel Rojas accessible off the bench.
Margot was additionally just lately acquired as a part of the Tyler Glasnow commerce with the Rays however is understood extra for his protection than his bat. Taylor can fill in at a number of positions, and his hitting additionally turned a query mark after a down 12 months in 2022, although he did bounce again with a 104 wRC+ over 384 PA final season.
Having Taylor as a supersub across the diamond is maybe a greater use for his skillset than a daily spot in left subject, even when defensive metrics have been blended at finest about Hernandez’s outfield glovework throughout his profession.
Hernandez has by no means drawn many walks throughout his profession, and his excessive strikeout totals add much more swing-and-miss to a group that already noticed Taylor, Josh Outman, Max Muncy and even Ohtani rank nicely beneath the league common in strikeout fee in 2023.
Nonetheless, the relative lack of contact is one thing of a minor flaw in comparison with the massive upside offered by the Dodgers’ general offensive assault.
The deferred cash will decrease the luxurious tax quantity on Hernandez’s $23.5M wage, however his signing represents one more large expenditure for a Los Angeles group that has mainly lapped the remainder of the league mixed in offseason spending.
Led by Ohtani’s $700M deal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s $325M contract, the Dodgers have now spent just below $1.067B on free agents alone this winter, to say nothing of the additional cash taken on when L.A. acquired and then extended Glasnow.
As per Roster Resource, the Dodgers’ tax quantity for 2024 now sits at roughly $302.32M, nicely over the Aggressive Steadiness Tax’s highest penalty threshold of $297M.
Even with the luxurious tax invoice persevering with to escalate, there may be little motive to assume L.A. is completed making strikes, as beginning pitching continues to be a necessity even after including Yamamoto and Glasnow. Extra signings clearly can’t be dominated out, or the Dodgers may transfer extra younger expertise in different trades for one more starter.
The sky is mainly the restrict for Los Angeles at this level, because the Dodgers have outpaced even their ordinary high-spending methods (with the numerous deferrals kicking the monetary can down the street to some extent) in constructing a veritable superteam with Ohtani, Betts, Yamamoto and Freddie Freeman among the many cornerstones.
Reporter Moises Fabian (via X) was first with the information that Hernandez had signed with Los Angeles, and ESPN’s Jeff Passan (X links) reported particulars concerning the one-year time period, the wage, and the deferred cash.
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