The Boston Red Sox are like a struggling three-point shooter these days. They just need to see a ball go through the net.
Aroldis Chapman signing notwithstanding, the Red Sox have yet to make any meaningful moves yet this winter. They lost out on starting pitcher Blake Snell, though it’s unclear just how interested they were, and they hope a similar fate isn’t waiting for them in the Juan Soto sweepstakes.
Boston needs one thing in their lineup above all else: right-handed power. Their lefties can all rake, but when a lefty took the hill in 2024, they typically held the Red Sox silent. Plus, the team leader in home runs, righty Tyler O’Neill, seems destined to leave in free agency.
Soto destroys left-handed pitching, so the fact that he’s a lefty shouldn’t preclude the Red Sox from signing him. But assuming the former New York Yankees star spurns Boston, a right-handed power-hitting outfielder seems like the logical backup plan.
Teoscar Hernández, the cleanup hitter for the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, would be a welcome solution. Recently, Pete Caldera of NorthJersey.com predicted that Hernández would sign with the Red Sox this winter.
“Imagine him full time at Fenway Park, where he owns a .950 OPS in 45 games,” Caldera said.
After one memorable season with the Dodgers, the 32-year-old Hernández will be looking to cash in. He ripped a career-high 33 home runs with an impressive .840 OPS, then had numerous big moments during the Dodgers’ playoff run.
Hernández could realistically sign for three to five years, with $20 million average annual value seeming like a reasonable barometer. Ryan Finkelstein of Just Baseball predicted that the slugger would land a four-year, $85 million contract in a recent free agency preview.
If the Red Sox are willing to offer $60 million for Soto, they should have no problem ponying up 13% of that for Hernández. He could be the righty slugger that propels them
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