It never really made sense for Hernández to accept. He signed for $23.5 million in 2024 and had his best season in years, so it only stands to reason that he would go back onto the free agent market looking for a multiyear deal and more money.
Hernández’s eagerness to stay in LA might’ve left a tiny glimmer of hope that he might accept the QO and return to the Dodgers without needing to go back to the negotiating table, where things could potentially get complicated.
But a few hours before the decision deadline, Francys Romero reported that Hernández had done the obvious (and smart) thing and rejected the QO, fully releasing him onto the free agent market.
Teoscar Hernández does the expected and rejects Dodgers’ qualifying offer
MLB Trade Rumors predicts that Hernández will make less annually in free agency than he did this year ($20 million a year), but he’ll get more years and therefore more job security out of the deal, while The Athletic predicts both three years and more money ($25 million a year). Either way, it’s understandable that Hernández would feel that he’s earned some assurance from whatever club he eventually signs with that he’ll be there for more than one season.
All signs point to the Dodgers still being the favorites to re-sign Hernández, and Brandon Gomes has said that LA planned to reenter negotiations with him. However, suitors have already come out of the woodwork in the form of the Red Sox, Orioles, and Yankees, the first of whom had their eye on Hernández last season and even offered him multiple years before he decided to sign with the Dodgers.
We’ve been hammering this point home a lot, but the Dodgers shouldn’t overestimate the fact that Hernández wants to stay in LA and take that as a sign that they can drag their feet on re-signing him. After the kind of season he just had, the Dodgers should expect other teams to be aggressive in courting him, and they can’t spend too long being indecisive about whether or not to bring him back.
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Dodgers Sign Another Pitcher as LA Continues to Bolster Staff
Right-handed pitcher Justin Jarvis became the third free agent to sign a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers this offseason.
Aram Leighton of Just Baseball and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic were the first to report the signing.
Jarvis has joined the Dodgers after spending time in the Mets’ organization. His journey started when the Brewers picked him in the fifth round of the 2018 MLB Draft. He spent five years with Milwaukee before being traded to the Mets in July 2023 for outfielder Mark Canha.
Although he hasn’t made his MLB debut yet, Jarvis has had an up-and-down minor league career. He ended the 2023 season in Triple-A with the Mets, where he struggled, going 0-5 with an 8.04 ERA and 36 strikeouts over nine starts. Things turned around at the start of 2024 when he moved to Double-A, putting up a 5-2 record, a 2.90 ERA, and 45 strikeouts in 10 appearances, five of them starts. But once he was promoted back to Triple-A, the struggles returned — he went 1-3 with a 5.98 ERA and 39 strikeouts over 46.2 innings.
The Dodgers have added more depth by signing infielder Aaron Bracho to a minor league deal. This follows their recent signing of left-handed reliever Joe Jacques to a minor league contract over the weekend.
Bracho joins the Dodgers after spending his entire career with the Cleveland Guardians. The 23-year-old infielder has yet to make his MLB debut but brings potential to bolster the Dodgers’ infield depth. Bracho originally signed with Cleveland out of Venezuela in 2017 and has spent the last two seasons at the Double-A level.
In 2023, Bracho put up solid numbers, slashing .245/.340/.441 with 90 hits, 50 runs, 18 home runs, and 59 RBIs across 104 games. However, his production dipped in 2024, as he posted a .221/.296/.338 slash line with 79 hits, 41 runs, eight home runs, and 49 RBIs. Bracho has been assigned to Double-A Tulsa, where he’ll look to get back on track.
Jacques began his professional career in 2018 after walking on to the baseball team at Manhattan College. He was drafted in the 33rd round by the Pittsburgh Pirates and spent four years in their minor league system before the Boston Red Sox selected him in the Rule 5 Draft in Dec. 2022.
Jacques appeared in 23 big-league games during his rookie season, including one start. He posted a 2-1 record with a 5.06 ERA and 20 strikeouts.
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