According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, the New York Yankees are among teams interested in free-agent outfielder Teoscar Hernandez. The Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers are also in on Hernandez, who won’t sign until after Juan Soto does this winter. He’s considered more of a Plan B option for the three teams involved, all of whom are in the sweepstakes for the aforementioned Soto. Across 154 games with the LA Dodgers, Hernandez had a 134 wRC+ with a 35 fWAR, helping them win the World Series over the Yankees.
Considering how log-jammed the Yankees’ outfield would be if they signed Juan Soto, one would assume this is only an option if they miss out on the coveted superstar.
Teoscar Hernandez Could Be A Pivot Option For the Yankees
After delivering a crucial hit in Game 5 of the World Series to end the Yankees’ season, Teoscar Hernandez could be a potential pivot option if the team misses out on Juan Soto. Chris Cotillo added in his report that this news won’t affect the Soto sweepstakes as it stands, with all teams interested in both outfielders remaining in on Soto until he signs. A decision on his free agency is expected soon, and offers have exceeded $700 million for his services.
Teoscar Hernandez certainly won’t draw in a $700 million deal, but after smashing 33 home runs in Los Angeles last season he could be due for a handsome payday. The Dodgers enjoyed his powerful swing all season and were able to help him fix some of the issues he had with sliders, cutting down his whiff and chase rates on those pitches while helping Hernandez absolutely blitz the baseball in the air for extra-base hits.
He posted the best wRC+ he’s had in a full 162-game season and he hit the ball considerably harder than he did in Seattle, resulting in the increase in his SLG%. All of this rests on Juan Soto as previously stated, who is holding up the outfield market for now.
Juan Soto is all the baseball world can seemingly talk about at the moment, as fans and executives alike anxiously await the decision the young star outfielder is about to make. Will the Yankees retain the most coveted free agent on the market, or will one of their fierce rivals in the East scoop him up and leave the Bronx Bombers without their second-best player? Time will tell, but they’ll keep monitoring the market for pivots in case Soto doesn’t want to be a Yankee as bad as some would suggest.
The year he spent in pinstripes should give them an inside track, but that’s speculation and only Soto and Boras truly know at this point. The Yankees will see this through until the very end, and hopefully, this drawn-out process will result in them landing what will likely be the highest-paid player in the entire sport.