Dodgers re-sign Teoscar Hernandez

5:37 p.m.: ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the deal includes just over $23 million in deferrals as well as a $23 million signing bonus. Passan adds that there is an option for a fourth season worth $15 million.

5:32 p.m.: The Dodgers re-sign Teoscar Hernandez with a three-year contract that guarantees $66 million. Dominican reporter Yancen Pujols first reported that the sides would strike a deal on those terms, while MassLive’s Chris Cotillo confirmed there was an agreement.

Hernández receives the three-year contract he was seeking to return to Los Angeles. The slugger had called returning to the Dodgers a priority after a great first season with the team. Hernández slashed .272/.339/.501 with 33 home runs and 652 plate appearances this year. He carried that strong performance into the postseason, hitting .250/.352/.417 with three longballs in 16 games to help the Dodgers to their second championship in five years.

This was the ideal outcome for a player on a cushion contract. Hernández hit free agency last winter after a mediocre season in Seattle. He had posted a pedestrian .258/.305/.435 average over 678 plate appearances as a Mariner. As a result, Hernández did not find the lucrative long-term offer he was looking for. While the Red Sox offered him a two-year contract with $28 million guaranteed, he signed for one season with the goal of restoring his market value.

Things couldn’t have gone much better for both sides. Hernández had one of the best seasons of his career. He received his second All-Star award and the Silver Slugger Award while receiving down-ballot MVP votes for the third time. Hernández reached a new career high in home runs with rate statistics consistent with his best years in Toronto. He was instrumental in the championship.

The bad year 2023 looks like an anomaly. He’s hardly the only veteran hitter struggling in Seattle’s extremely pitcher-friendly home park. Hernández has been an impact hitter in each of the other four seasons since his breakout season in 2020. Over the last five years, he owned a batting line of .274/.328/.493 in nearly 2,700 trips to the plate. There will be a decent number of strikeouts, but few players hit the ball that hard. Hernández is an annual threat for 30+ doubles and at least 25-30 home runs.

Hernández was the only key offensive player the Dodgers feared losing in free agency. He will return to join Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, Max Muncy, Tommy Edman And Gavin Lux in a serious crime. The Dodgers added Michael Conforto to a $17 million contract at the Winter Meetings. No other team can match the power of the LA lineup.

The Dodgers are taking some risk from a defensive standpoint. Despite his outstanding arm strength and surprising athleticism, Hernández was never considered a good defender. That continued this season too. Defensive Runs Saved felt he was three runs below average in his 1,308 combined innings between the outfield corner spots. Statcast graded him much harsher, estimating him to be 11 runs below average.

It’s unlikely Hernández will improve on that side of the ball with his contract running until age 34. An ideal landing spot would have allowed him to move up to designated hitter in his second or third year. That’s not an option on a team with Ohtani. The Dodgers move Betts to shortstop and will have Edman flanked in the outfield by Hernández and Conforto. They accept a mediocre defensive outfield in order to be able to put good hitters in the lineup.

More will follow.