by Cary Osborne
The Dodgers have now added one of the most offensively productive outfielders in baseball to their impressive list of offseason acquisitions. And in doing so, they have also created more matchup problems for opponents.
Veteran outfielder Teoscar Hernández, 31, agreed to a one-year contract with the Dodgers on Friday.
Hernández’s 83 home runs between 2021–2023 are the seventh-most of any Major League outfielder in that span.
Other ranks among MLB outfielders in that period include:
· OPS+: 121 (11th)
· OPS: .903 (11th)
· Slugging: .481 (9th)
The two-time Silver Slugger and 2021 American League All-Star batted .258/.305/.435/.741 with 26 home runs, 93 RBI, a 106 OPS+ and 105 wRC+ with Seattle in 2023.
He hit 32 home runs, drove in 116 runs and had a .296/.346/.524/.870 slash line with Toronto in his 2021 All-Star season.
The signing addressed a Dodger objective for a right-handed hitting bat. Hernández’s .977 OPS vs. left-handed pitching since 2021 is the fifth-highest among Major Leaguers with at least 300 plate appearances against lefties. Mookie Betts is fourth on that list at .977.
Hernández has also hit 56 home runs against right-handed pitching over the last three seasons.
The career American Leaguer and eight-year Major League veteran rated at zero outs above average (per Statcast) and one defensive run saved (per FanGraphs) in 135 games played in right field last season. His Major League career has seen a majority of innings played in right field (60.2%) with 26.4% of his innings in left field.
How outfield innings are divvied up is to be determined, but the Dodgers have the luxury of options.
Hernández’s performance against left- and right-handed pitching has made him an everyday player in the past. He appeared in 160 games last season.
The Dodgers acquired the right-handed hitting run-prevention specialist Manuel Margot in a trade with Tampa Bay on Dec. 16, and re-signed left-handed hitting Jason Heyward on Dec. 6. Both are primarily right fielders with flexibility.
James Outman started 124 games for the Dodgers in center field last season.
Chris Taylor and Mookie Betts are among the outfield mix.
The right-handed hitting Taylor appears to be a man of many positions, which has been his profile throughout his career and adds to the Dodgers’ infield options and ability to match up. The Dodgers have left-handed hitting third baseman Max Muncy and shortstop Gavin Lux on the left side of the infield, where Taylor can plug in.
Betts is slated to take a majority of his innings at second base, but is a six-time Gold Glove right fielder.
Changes could still occur with 2 ½ months to go before Opening Day, but the position player side of the Dodgers now includes:
Right-Handed hitting
Will Smith (C)
Austin Barnes (C)
Betts (INF/OF)
Taylor (INF/OF)
Miguel Rojas (Multi-positional IF)
Margot (Multi-positional OF)
Hernández (Multi-positional OF)
Left-Handed Hitting
Shohei Ohtani (DH)
Freddie Freeman (1B)
Muncy (3B/Multi-positional IF)
Lux (SS/2B)
Outman (Multi-positional OF)
Heyward (Multi-positional OF)
The Dodgers will enter the 2024 season with five players coming off 25-home runs seasons — Shohei Ohtani (44), Betts (39), Max Muncy (36), Freddie Freeman (29) and Hernández (26). The Atlanta Braves were the only team in the Majors in 2023 with five 25-home run hitters.
Dodgers add dimension to offense, power to lineup with Teoscar Hernández was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.