Teoscar Hernández is coming off somewhat of a disappointing season with the Los Angeles Dodgers that saw him regress on both sides of the ball.
Hernández hit just .247/.284/.454 with 29 doubles, 25 home runs and 89 RBI in 134 games. That was a significant drop-off in production compared to his first season with the Dodgers, when he posted an .840 on-base plus slugging.
Hernández also was a liability at times in right field due to limitations that allowed runners to take extra bases against him.
Hernández admitted that he wasn’t as mobile as he would have hoped in 2025, via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic:
“I wasn’t moving the way I know I can move,” Hernández said.
Some of Hernández’s struggles can be attributed to a strained left groin that he sustained last May. The 33-year-old only missed two weeks but clearly wasn’t the same after returning to the lineup:
“I was fighting through it,” Hernández said. “Obviously, I didn’t say anything. I just wanted to be on the field and trying to help the team.”
Hernández changed his diet and lost some weight during this offseason in effort of getting back on track this season:
He cleaned up his diet. That, along with the sweat-inducing humidity of a Caribbean winter, helped him drop 10 pounds back to his usual 204.
Hernández hopes the changes he made, coupled with his groin being fully healed, will lead to a bounce-back season in 2026. He did have a better showing during the postseason, hitting five home runs with 13 RBI in 17 games.
Teoscar Hernández moving back to left field
Hernández is expected to move back to left field this season following the Dodgers’ signing of Kyle Tucker. The 33-year-old wasn’t given a heads up about the position change, but took the news in stride.
“We made the sign, and then I ended up reaching out to Teo and said, ‘This is what’s going to happen.’ And he gave me a big thumbs up, and he’ll be ready to go,” manager Dave Roberts said.
“So I think it just speaks to the guys that we have in the room. And if winning is the most important thing, then it doesn’t matter the role, the position, and guys just have bought in.”
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