The Boston Red Sox have a few clear needs this offseason and one Los Angeles Dodgers star certainly could help fill a hole
Dodgers All-Star slugger Teoscar Hernández is one of the hottest names on the open market right now. He settled for a one-year deal with the Dodgers last offseason and it resulted in him slugging 33 home runs, driving in 99 runs, earning his second All-Star nod, and winning a World Series with Los Angeles.
The Dodgers may not be able to keep him after such a great year, and that’s where the Red Sox could come into play. Boston needs a right-handed thumper in the middle of the lineup badly. The Red Sox have been tied to Hernández over the last year or so. Boston should go out and sign him, and NBC Sports Boston’s John Tomase suggested the two sides come together on a three-year, $69 million deal.
“Teoscar Hernandez (three years, $69 million),” Tomase said. “The Red Sox could’ve signed Hernandez last winter, but they lost him to the Dodgers on a one-year deal. They can right that wrong now. With Tyler O’Neill probably leaving in free agency, the Red Sox have an opening for a right-handed hitting outfielder, and Hernández would be perfect. The 32-year-old has smashed at least 25 homers in each of the last four seasons, including a career-high 33 this year, when he made his second All-Star team.
“More to the point, he might be the most prototypical Fenway Park hitter in baseball. He owns more homers in Fenway (14) than any other road park, and he has made no secret of his love of hitting here. He’s coming off a postseason that saw him hit three homers and drive in 12 during L.A.’s run to a title, and he’d supply proven and reliable right-handed thunder alongside Rafael Devers for short years and relatively short dollars.”
Hernández likes Boston, and the Red Sox should like him, too. Hopefully, a deal of this nature comes to fruition.
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