The Juan Soto sweepstakes coming to a record-breaking end has shifted plenty of attention to Teoscar Hernández, who has drawn interest from the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, among others.
For the Dodgers, Red Sox and Yankees, any movement toward a deal with Hernández didn’t figure to come until Soto signed a new contract. Meanwhile, the Orioles wound up addressing their need for a right-handed hitting outfielder by signing Tyler O’Neil to a three-year, $49.5 million contract.
The Dodgers also made a move in the outfield by reportedly agreeing to terms with Michael Conforto on a one-year deal. However, he figures to be more of a complementary piece and the Dodgers remain interested in re-signing Hernández.
According to Jack Harris and Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times, the Dodgers and Hernández recently picked up contract talks:
The sides have recently engaged in negotiations over a potential new deal for the two-time All-Star, who also drove in 99 runs last season while batting .272 with a .840 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.
Despite there seemingly being mutual interest in agreeing to a new deal, the Dodgers and Hernández are far apart on contract terms, per Alden González of ESPN:
The Dodgers and Hernández have been in negotiations for the past few weeks but have been unable to bridge the gap, sources familiar with the process have said.
As the Dodgers and Hernández remain at odds in contract talks, he reportedly has some affinity for potentially playing at Fenway Park and under Red Sox manager Alex Cora.
Furthermore, if the Dodgers aren’t able to find common ground with Hernández financially, that could become further problematic amid an expectation both the Red Sox and Yankees become more aggressive due to missing out on Soto.
It recently was reported the Dodgers and Hernández had made significant progress in contract talks and were nearing an agreement.
What if Dodgers don’t re-sign Teoscar Hernández?
Should the Dodgers not re-sign Hernández, they would face a significant void in their outfield even with taking into account Conforto.
Andy Pages, Chris Taylor and James Outman are the only other true outfielders presently on the roster. Free agency could lead the Dodgers to explore signing Anthony Santander, who is two years younger than Hernández and a switch-hitter.
But, Santander has a robust market as well and declined the qualifying offer from the Orioles, which would mean the Dodgers lose a draft pick in order to sign the 30-year-old. That would be mitigated in some sense as they would receive compensation for Hernández signing with a new team as he rejected the qualifying offer as well.
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