Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez confirmed on Friday that he will continue with the World Series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, after negotiations extended for around two months and seemed to have stalled. “I’m back,” the player wrote on his Instagram account.
However, after the Dominican player’s announcement, ESPN reported that the agreement will be for the next three seasons. Teoscar was instrumental in the conquest of the World Series in five games against the New York Yankees.
In fact, Teoscar declared after winning the World Series that he wanted to stay with the Angels, after a one-year contract that proved to be a great addition to the offense. However, negotiations for the renewal of the deal dragged on. In the meantime, they signed outfielder Michael Conforto and entered into trade discussions for other outfielders.
Teoscar Hernandez’s contract details
However, Teoscar analyzed his offers and decided to stay, in exchange for $66 million dollars and a deal that includes a club option of $15 million dollars for the 2028 season, with a buy-out option of $6.5 million dollars. $23.5 million will be paid in deferred payments and also a signing bonus of $23 million.
Hernandez’s previous contract, 32, was for $23.5 million, of which $8.5 million was deferred. However, teams considered the player too low to offer him a contract too low to sign long term.
Teoscar slashed .272/.339/.501 with 33 home runs and a career-high 99 RBIs. He helped win the championship with his two-run double in Game 5 of the World Series, which ended the Yankees‘ comeback attempt, as well as a home run in Game 2 against Carlos Rodon, which gave Los Angeles a lead that proved decisive.
But that hasn’t been all for the Dodgers in the offseason. They first signed star pitcher Blake Snell, a two-time National League Cy Young Award winner, to a five-year, $182 million deal. They extended Blake Treinen, another World Series hero, for two years and $22 million and are expected to close Conforto on a one-year deal to show himself and aspire to a larger extension.
Before arriving in Los Angeles, Hernandez was one of the most consistent outfielders. Among the 125 hitters with at least 2,500 plate appearances since 2018, Hernandez ranks 17th in home runs, 21st in RBIs and 40th in OPS+.
In addition, he is another important bat in the Angels’ lineup with Conforto himself, as well as Andy Pages, Chris Taylor, James Outman and Tommy Edman, who can play center field and shortstop, where the former outfielder and Most Valuable Player, Mookie Betts, plans to play every day.
To bring in all this talent, the Dodgers’ front office continues to look to defer its players’ contracts, including more than $1 billion belonging to Shohei Ohtani ($680 million of his $700 million contract), while the remaining $46 million is part of an escrow account to raise this sum. But they also deferred deals for other figures such as Betts, Snell, Edman, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith.
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