Even with the deepest of pockets, the Los Angeles Dodgers can't keep everyone. This winter, one of the team's bats is projected to return to the Great White North in free agency after taking his already potent offensive game to an even higher level in Chavez Ravine.
Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez has had one of his very best seasons in his first year with the Dodgers. His only campaign that compares to his current one was 2021, his fifth season with the Toronto Blue Jays.
According to a FanSided report, Hernandez will return to the team where he posted a pair of American League MVP-contending seasons by signing with the Blue Jays this offseason.
Hernandez patrolled the outfield in Rogers Centre for six seasons, hitting 129 home runs with 369 RBI and a .263 batting average for "Canada's Team."
After the 2022 season, he was dealt to the Seattle Mariners with one year remaining on his contract. After putting up a solid season in the Emerald City, he signed a one-year, $23.5 million contract with the Dodgers last January.
It proved to be a prudent deal for both Los Angeles and Hernandez, with the 31-year-old earning his second All-Star nod in his first turn with a National League team. During the regular season, the Dominican native hit .272 with 99 RBI and a career-best 32 homers.
Hernandez's 2024 efforts mirror those of 2021, when he hit .296 with 32 homers and 116 RBI. Now, with Toronto looking to reshape its roster after a tremendously disappointing season, bringing back one of the architects of the Blue Jays rise in the early 2020s makes a lot of sense.
According to Spotrac, Hernandez is projected to claim a contract in the range of three years for approximately $71 million this winter — mere pocket change for the Dodgers.
However, for a team always on the lookout for the brightest of stars, Hernandez may prove to be a bigger priority to bring back for Toronto than he is to retain for Los Angeles.
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