The Los Angeles Dodgers are favored to retain Teoscar Hernández following the World Series, but a return to the Toronto Blue Jays could be in the cards as well.
The Juan Soto sweepstakes continues to suck up all the oxygen in the MLB rumor mill, kicking some other potentially massive signings down the road for the time being.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal wrote on Monday that the respective markets for free agent outfielders Anthony Santander and Teoscar Hernández are stagnant as teams wait for Soto to come off the board. The Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers are among those teams, with the latter fresh off a World Series run during which Hernández was their everyday left fielder.
If Soto doesn’t land in Los Angeles, Rosenthal reported that Hernández is likely to re-sign with the Dodgers on a three-year, $60-plus million contract. And yet, if Soto doesn’t go to Toronto, the Blue Jays are likely to turn up the heat in their pursuit of the All-Star sluggers.
Rumors have already connected Toronto to Santander, and now a reunion with Hernández could be on the table as well. Rosenthal even went as far as saying that Toronto would be Hernández’s “most logical destination” if he doesn’t go back to Los Angeles.
Hernández made a name for himself with the Blue Jays, becoming an everyday player in 2018 and ascending to star status in 2020. He won Silver Slugger Awards in both 2020 and 2021, making his first career All-Star appearance in 2021.
Between 2018 and 2022, Hernández hit .263 with an .819 OPS. Extrapolating his COVID-impacted production out to a full season, Hernández averaged 28 home runs, 27 doubles, 80 RBI and a 2.3 WAR per year during that stretch.
The Blue Jays traded Hernández to the Seattle Mariners for reliever Erik Swanson and pitching prospect Adam Macko in November 2022, though, losing out on that explosive bat in the middle of their lineup. Hernández then signed a one-year, $23.5 million deal with Los Angeles last winter.
Hernández hit .272 with 33 home runs, 32 doubles, 99 RBI, 12 stolen bases, an .840 OPS and a 4.3 WAR in 154 games with the Dodgers in 2024, making another All-Star appearance and claiming another Silver Slugger.
Rosenthal noted that Hernández remains “very close” with the Blue Jays’ star first baseman, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who is up for a massive contract of his own after next season. If Toronto were to sign Soto, it is unlikely they could afford to keep Guerrero around long-term, while adding Hernández would give them more than enough flexibility to lock down the face of their franchise for the foreseeable future.
Bringing Hernández and Guerrero back together, surrounded by shortstop Bo Bichette, right fielder George Springer and up-and-comers like Daulton Varsho, Spencer Horwitz, Will Wagner, Davis Schneider and Orelvis Martinez, could get Toronto back on track after they missed the postseason in 2024. And if that core also paves a path towards the Blue Jays retaining Guerrero, then constructing that lineup seems like a no-brainer.
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