Dodgers could lose ‘hot commodity’ All-Star to free agent market this winter

The Los Angeles Dodgers have the most talented roster in baseball, but not all of their stars will be together for long.

Even if Los Angeles manages to finance $100M-plus toward the retention of Jack Flaherty this winter, the Dodgers still have Teoscar Hernández to pay, who is due for a lucrative new deal.

Hernández is among the upcoming free agents in Major League Baseball who have boosted their value the most this season, according to Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report.

“After hitting .275 with 99 home runs and a slugging percentage just a shade under .500 from 2020-23, Teoscar Hernández should have gotten a better, longer-term payday last winter,” Miller said.

“(Hernández) is having a banger of a season. … He can’t hold a candle to what Shohei Ohtani is doing, but he has been every bit as valuable to the Dodgers’ cause as Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts, and even more important than Will Smith.”

“Despite Ohtani’s presence on the roster making it impossible for Hernández to get the occasional “day off” as a DH, he has started darn near every game in the outfield for the Dodgers, coming on the heels of playing 160 games for the Mariners. That combination of power and durability should make him a hot commodity.”

Entering Monday, Hernández was slashing .269/.333/.499, with 25 homers and 75 RBIs on the year. He’s hoping to have a 2024 World Series ring around his finger before any contract discussions get underway this November.

More MLB: Dodgers first-round pick listed as player most likely to be traded in 2025

Author(s)

Colin Keane is a contributing journalist for The Sporting News. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Villanova University and currently resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.