On Sunday night, the Dodgers officially lost out on what appeared to be a valiant chase for Juan Soto.
They were the only team (out of five apparent finalists) not to offer $700 million or more, but seemed to be in contention close to the end. Still, Soto followed the money to Queens, signing with the Mets for 15 years and $765 million.
LA losing out wasn’t really a surprise to Dodgers fans, many of whom didn’t really want Soto desperately to begin with.
Fans’ attentions are more firmly on Teoscar Hernández’s future, which makes sense given everything he contributed to the Dodgers in 2024.
Hernández’s market was stalled by Soto, but now that the latter has signed, the floodgates are opened, and deals for both Hernández and Anthony Santander — the other two top outfielders on the market — seem inevitable.
The Dodgers aren’t the only ones in on Hernández, of course. The Red Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays have all been connected to him, and all three of those teams just saved $700+ million by missing out on Soto, who received far more than anyone expected him to at the outset.
It’ll make the job of any team interested in Hernández even harder. How much are the Dodgers going to have to shell out to get him back in LA?
What does Teoscar Hernández’s market look like following Juan Soto’s megadeal?
The Athletic predicted Hernández would get three years and $75 million in free agency, while MLB Trade Rumors predicted three years and $60 million.
MLBTR’s always felt a bit too low, given that he made $23.5 million this past season, but now even $25 million a year might not get the job done, especially as teams swarm to sign the No. 2 outfielder on the market.
Three years still feels safe, but now teams might have to push to a $27-28 million AAV to get a deal over the line. Soto is clearly in a league of his own at $51 million per year, but desperation should drive Hernández’s price up accordingly.
On Monday, Alden González of ESPN reported Hernández and the Dodgers had been engaged in negotiations for some time, but were “unable to bridge the gap.” That certainly doesn’t sound promising, and it leaves room for Boston, New York, and Toronto to move in and concede where LA might not be willing to.
It’s more than a little frustrating to know that the two parties have been in talks, but something nebulous is keeping them from just getting this thing done.
The Dodgers signed Michael Conforto for the outfield and could give Andy Pages a more full-time role in the outfield next season, but no one wants to watch Hernández walk away this offseason.
