Reaching an agreement with the Dodgers, Teoscar Hernández…
The Dodgers needed a right-handed hitter who could hold his own against right-handed pitching and hit lefties, even after adding Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Manuel Margot, and Shohei Ohtani.
This winter, Hernández was considered one of the Dodgers’ early targets. The Red Sox and Angels, among other teams, reportedly extended two-year contracts to the two-time Silver Slugger. However, he ultimately chose a one-year contract with the Dodgers to join what is expected to be one of the finest offenses in the Major Leagues.
Hernández is one of 12 players who has hit at least 25 home runs in each of the last four complete seasons. He is a reliable source of power. This includes the 26 home runs he hit with the Mariners last season after being traded from Toronto in the summer. In spite of this, his 2023 campaign fell short of expectations for a player who won the Silver Slugger in 2020 and 2021 and was voted MVP.
Hernández has a career.887 OPS versus southpaw pitchers, demonstrating his ability to hit left-handed pitching regardless of the ballpark. While Mookie Betts is expected to play the majority of his games at second base, Hernández would start most of his Dodgers games in right field against left-handers and slide over to left field against right-handers. This season, Chris Taylor will also have at-bats in his role as a utility guy.
The Dodgers are unlikely to sign any additional position players this winter with Hernández joining the team. The team has looked into shortstop options, especially with the Brewers for Willy Adames, but nothing has come of trade talks.
Hernández put up a 105 wRC+ with the Mariners following three years in which he registered a wRC+ of 130 or more with the Blue Jays. His anticipated weighted on-base average fell to.336 for the third consecutive season, and his on-base percentage (OPS) of.741 was the lowest since the Astros’ first season in 2016. Prior to the 2017 Trade Deadline, Hernández was dealt to the Blue Jays after just 100 at-bats with Houston.
Hernández has never really been good at plate discipline, and this was especially evident during the previous season. His chase percentage was 35.2%, which was a career low. Against a 31.1 percent strikeout rate, he had a career-low 5.6% walk rate. His 35.8% whiff rate and 211 strikeouts were both in the upper half of qualified players’ stats.
Hernández had a fantastic 49.4% hard-hit rate and 13.8 percent barrel rate, showing that he frequently stung the ball whenever he made contact. With a.302 average, a.659 slugging percentage, and an absurdly high 72.4% hard-hit rate, the 31-year-old truly pounded four-seam fastballs.
Hernández’s precise and powerful right field arm helps him contribute to the outfield even though he is not a great defender. His 22 assists over the previous two seasons trail only the Nationals’ Lane Thomas. Last season, he tied for third place among all outfielders with 12 assists.
Hernández’s most productive full season to date occurred in 2021, when he slashed 32 home runs, 116 runs batted in, and finished with a slash line of.296/.346/.524 with Toronto.