Teoscar Hernández is staying in Los Angeles.
The two-time All-Star outfielder and the Dodgers agreed to a three-year, $66 million deal that includes a fourth-year club option, a league source said Friday, cashing in on a market-resetting 2024 season in which Hernández slugged a career-best 33 home runs, won a Silver Slugger and won the World Series with Los Angeles. Yancen Pujols first reported the deal.
Hernández was ranked 11th on The Athletic’s Free Agent Big Board ahead of this offseason and was the third highest-ranked outfielder available behind Juan Soto and Anthony Santander. Unlike a year ago, when Hernández hoped to get a multiyear deal and instead signed a one-year, $23.5 million pact with the Dodgers (with $8.5 million in deferred money), Hernández invited a robust market. The Athletic’s Tim Britton projected him to get three years and $69 million in free agency ahead of the winter.
The 32-year-old outfielder fit perfectly in the middle of a powerful Dodgers order in 2024, providing his signature thump and enjoying his best overall offensive output in a full season by OPS+ (137) while manning both corner-outfield spots and putting up a career-best 4.3 WAR, according to Baseball Reference. His smile was infectious, with Hernández becoming a beloved clubhouse figure with the nickname “Mr. Seeds” — Hernández would greet his teammates after home runs by flinging sunflower seeds in the air.
“It’s more than I was thinking,” Hernández said at the Dodgers parade about his 2024 spent in Los Angeles. “I knew it was going to be good. I knew a lot of things were about to happen in a good way, but this is way more than I expected.”
That fostered a mutual interest between the two sides in a reunion. Hernández said repeatedly during the season he would love to sign an extension in Los Angeles, though the two sides never broached the subject during the season. In the wake of the Dodgers’ World Series run, Hernández called signing in Los Angeles a “priority,” even as several other clubs, including the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles, expressed interest. The Dodgers gave Hernández a qualifying offer, something the Seattle Mariners had not done with Hernández after his down 2023 campaign.
(Photo of Hernández: Harry How / Getty Images)
