MLB Rumors: Teoscar Hernández, Dodgers Agree to 1-Year, $23.5M Contract in FA

Teoscar Hernández will play for his third team in as many seasons in 2024.

The veteran outfielder reportedly signed a one-year, $23.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

It was also noted by Passan that $8.5 million of the $23.5 million deal will be deferred and paid out from 2030 to 2039. Hernández reportedly had other multiyear offers but opted for a one-year deal with what is shaping up to be MLB's newest super-team.

After six years in Toronto, Hernández was traded to the Seattle Mariners for reliever Erik Swanson and pitching prospect Adam Macko last offseason. It proved to be a solid trade for the Mariners, as the one-time All-Star hit .258 with 26 homers, 93 RBI, 70 runs and a .741 OPS in 160 games.

He didn't help the Mariners reach the postseason, as they just fell short in that regard, but he nonetheless proved to be a solid pickup.

The Dodgers clearly saw his value in free agency. Hernández now has 25 or more home runs in four of the past five seasons and 20 or more dingers in five of his last six campaigns, and the lone year he didn't hit any mark was the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Hernández would have easily hit both thresholds that year, however, as he had 16 homers through 50 games.

That made him one of the solid options for teams looking to bolster the outfield after players like Jung Hoo Lee and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. came off the board.

It's possible that Hernández's long-term future will be at designated hitter, and his signing isn't going to dominate headlines like some of the bigger-name players on the market this winter. But he's a solid addition for the Dodgers.

And what an offseason it's been in Los Angeles.

The signings of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto alone won the winter for the Dodgers, to the point that it's easy to forget that the team also traded for Tyler Glasnow. Beyond that, Hernández will likely replace David Peralta in left field, with James Outman handling center and Jason Heyward positioned in right.

The Dodgers are stacked.