Teoscar Hernandez contract details, grade: Dodgers spend big again to upgrade outfield
Before the calendar even flipped to the new year, the Los Angeles Dodgers had won the offseason. They had signed both Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto while also pulling off a trade for Tyler Glasnow. They won 100 games this past season without those three, and added three superstars before we even got to January.
For those who thought the Dodgers might've stopped after getting those three superstars, they were proven wrong, as Jeff Passan broke the news late Sunday that Teoscar Hernandez signed a deal to join the Dodgers.
BREAKING: Outfielder Teoscar Hernández and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in agreement on a one-year, $23.5 million contract, sources tell ESPN. Hernández joins Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow on the new-look Dodgers, who add another All-Star bat to the lineup.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 8, 2024
Teoscar Hernandez contract details with Dodgers
Of the $23.5 million in Teoscar Hernández's deal with the Dodgers, $8.5 million will be deferred, to be paid out from 2030 to 2039, sources tell ESPN. The corner-outfield market is tough, and Hernández opted for a big one-year deal with the best team over other multiyear offers.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 8, 2024
The Dodgers signed Hernandez to a one-year deal worth $23.5 million. Sure, the AAV is high, but the deal is for one year. Let's repeat. One year. Not only is the deal only for one year, but the Dodgers deferred $8.5 million of it. Shohei Ohtani taught them well. This helps them with what will be an enormous tax bill for this season, as they technically owe Hernandez just $15 million for this season. Eventually, the deferred money will begin to affect them, but we're talking a decade from now.
Hernandez fills arguably the biggest weakness to the Dodgers lineup: Left field. He'll get the starts there over Chris Taylor alongside James Outman and Jason Heyward most nights. While Hernandez is not known for his glove, he's another big bopper the Dodgers can add to their order to lengthen it. Hernandez has hit at least 25 home runs in each of the last four full seasons (excluding 2020). Having this guy hit fifth or sixth for them is just unfair.
Passan notes that Hernandez chose the Dodgers one-year pact over several other multi-year offers he had on the table. Hernandez clearly wanted the chance to win, and he also is coming off a bit of a down year, so he's betting that he has a monster year in 2024 and then he can cash in the following offseason.
It felt like this was the move Andrew Friedman was hinting at during his radio interview with Jim Bowden of MLB Network, but a one-year deal is not something anyone expected. MLB Trade Rumors projected a four-year deal worth $80 million. Quite the difference.
For the Dodgers, this is a slam dunk. They upgrade arguably their biggest weakness in their order by signing Hernandez, and getting him on a one-year deal makes it even sweeter. If Hernandez doesn't turn out to be a good fit for whatever reason, they simply let him walk after the year. There's absolutely no risk that comes with this one-year deal, and there's a chance for incredible reward.
There's no such thing as a bad one-year deal, but there is such a thing as an insanely good one-year deal. That's what the Dodgers got here with Teoscar Hernandez.
Grade: A
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