Teoscar Hernández, an outfielder, contributed significantly to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ victory over the New York Yankees in the 2024 World Series. The right-handed power hitter is now a free agent. Could he leave Hollywood to pursue a lucrative contract in the Bronx? Last winter, Hernández was offered multi-year contracts, but he chose to take a one-year, $23.5 million contract with the Dodgers.
This proved to be an excellent move for the 32-year-old. In 652 plate appearances with Los Angeles, he batted.272/.339/.501 with 33 home runs, 32 doubles, 99 RBI, and 84 runs scored.
This effort earned him his second All-Star Game selection, third Silver Slugger Award, and a 19th-place finish in the National League MVP vote. Hernández is likely to sign quickly this winter. The Dodgers appear to be the favourites to sign him. But now that he’s on the free market, everything is possible. If Juan Soto signs elsewhere, New York may consider the outfielder as a backup plan.
JustBaseball’s Ryan Finkelstein believes Hernández will still be available for the Yankees to sign on a five-year, $85 million contract. “Since 2019, Tesocar has been one of only a handful hitters to smash 25 home runs in a whole season. His 158 home runs throughout that time rank 15th in MLB,” he wrote. “Many teams will call Hernandez to add some power to their lineup, but the differentiating factor in negotiations may come down to who is willing to commit the most years to him.” According to Spotrac’s estimate of Hernández’s market value, the Yankees would be slightly overpaying, since he is worth $71 million over three years. However, this might happen as a result of a bidding battle. We’ll have to wait and see what happens next.
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