ÚLTIMA HORA: Los Dodgers están siendo innecesariamente mezquinos con su encaje más obvio como agente libre, Teoscar Hernández, ya que firma con los Toronto Blue Jays. Paraphrase text

 

The Dodgers are being needlessly petty with their most obvious free-agent fit

There’s no reason why this isn’t done.

The Los Angeles Dodgers just won the World Series, but they’re now attempting to build a dynasty. The Blake Snell signing on top of an already expensive roster proves just that.

While the Dodgers are still in as good of a position to win the World Series in 2025 as any other team out there, they still have a clear hole in their outfield.

The Dodgers have Tommy Edman locked in as their center fielder and signed Michael Conforto to play a corner outfield spot, but with Mookie Betts moving back to the infield, the question now is who will play the other corner? Sure, the Dodgers could stick with an internal option like Andy Pages or James Outman but is that really in their best interest when Teoscar Hernandez is still a free agent?

Hernandez, a key piece to Los Angeles’ World Series run this past season, is still a free agent a little less than two months after making it abundantly clear that he wanted to remain a Dodger. There was reason to believe that since Hernandez is still out there, his ask was ridiculous. As it turns out, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required), that isn’t the case at all.

“Hernández, 32, is seeking a three-year deal between $66 million and $72 million, according to a person briefed on the negotiations.”

The 32-year-old is looking for a three-year deal worth roughly $23 million annually. It might be a bit understandable to see the Dodgers balk at that ask simply because three years is a good amount for an outfielder who already isn’t great defensively, especially when the DH spot is taken up by Shohei Ohtani, but years aren’t the issue, according to Rosenthal. It’s all about the money.

“The contract length does not appear to be a point of contention between the parties. The issue is money.”

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