Teoscar Hernandez Asking Price – MLB Trade Rumors

The thought that Teoscar Hernandez would sign early in the offseason or immediately after Juan Soto‘s decision didn’t have that impact. The 32-year-old slugger remains without a contract and will reportedly have to juggle interest from at least the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Yankees by this point in the winter. Hernandez and the incumbent Dodgers were unable to close the gap between Hernandez’s asking price and the team’s offer. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com adds further context, reporting that Hernandez is seeking a three-year deal that will guarantee him $22 million to $24 million per year.

A three-year deal in the range of $66 million to $72 million would generally be in line with expectations. Hernandez’s agent, Rafa Nieves, stated early in the offseason that Hernandez was seeking three years last offseason when they moved and accepted a one-year deal in Los Angeles. A three-year deal following the slugger’s rebound campaign in LA seemed (and still seems) reasonable, even though he’s now entering his age-32 season after turning down a qualifying offer (and thus settling for one). draft pick compensation). This range of $22 million to $24 million would be in line with last year’s salary of $23 million (although some of that was deferred, which slightly reduced the net present value).

With Soto off the board, Hernandez and his fellow hitter Anthony Santander are the top outfield hitters on the free agent market. Santander is two years younger but is also reportedly seeking a five-year deal after hitting 44 home runs for the Orioles in 2024. Both players declined QOs. Hernandez is the cheaper of the two, but is also older and more prone to strikeouts. The presence of Cody Bellinger in the trading market and the recent emergence of trading now Kyle Tucker Speculatively speaking, this might have helped slow things down for Hernandez’s market.

Hernandez hit .272/.339/.501 with 33 home runs last season, the highest of his career, before hitting .250/.352/.417 in the postseason. His 28.8% strikeout rate was an improvement over his 31.1% mark in 2023, but was still about six percentage points above league average. His 8.1% walk rate was the second best of his career, but right on par with the league average of 8.2%. At this point, teams can expect more power, a below-average walk rate, and more strikeouts than they would like from Hernandez. He earned well below average grades for his defense, but Hernandez has plus speed and above-average arm strength, according to Statcast, so a team might think there’s enough raw talent to get a better performance out of him.

However, the defensive concerns make a multi-year reunion with the Dodgers a potentially problematic pairing. Hernandez has said he hopes to return — and the Dodgers are clearly open to a reunion. Beating the rest of the market when Hernandez is already 32 and there is no DH chance thanks to the presence of Shohei Ohtani could make a long-term deal concerning for Los Angeles in a way that other Hernandez suitors aren’t.