Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2024
A crucial player in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ world championship was Teoscar Hernández. He is a free agent who expressed a sincere interest in returning to the Dodgers. On Monday, the Dodgers gave him a qualifying offer. Both sides need to work out a multi-year lucrative deal.
The Dodgers have two good, powerful left-handed hitters, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy. However, they needed a pure right-handed power hitter to prevent the left-handed pitchers from having an easy outing against the Dodgers, even though Mookie Betts and Will Smith are right-handed hitters with power.
Last January, the Dodgers signed Teoscar Hernández looking to rebound from a difficult offensive season with the Seattle Mariners. He automatically fit in the Dodgers. His sunny personality gave the team something that they had been missing since 2020.
Hernández became the first Dodger ever to win the Home Run Derby. He didn’t save his power for the Derby. In the 2024 season, he had a .272 batting average, 33 home runs, and 99 RBI. He cut down on his strikeouts drastically with the Dodgers. Next to Shohei Ohtani, Hernández was the Dodger MVP. When Mookie Betts missed about two months with a broken hand, he and Ohtani carried the team offensively.
While Hernández is not the greatest defensive outfielder, he is adequate in left field. During the World Series, he threw out a Yankee runner, who made a blunder, at home plate, which helped the Dodgers win. He would help the Dodgers in the outfield.
Without Teoscar Hernández, the 2024 Dodgers wouldn’t have made it to the postseason because Max Muncy and Betts missed significant amounts of time, and the San Diego Padres were the best team after the All-Star break. The Dodgers must re-sign Teoscar Hernández.
