The New York Yankees, like many other big-market Major League Baseball clubs, seem to be on hold.
The Yankees are embroiled in the sweepstakes to sign superstar slugger Juan Soto and, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan has noted, many of the other significant offseason dominoes won’t fall until Soto agrees to a new contract.
But when those negotiations do reach their conclusion, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report expects another impactful slugger to reach a new deal of his own, predicting the Yankees will land Teoscar Hernández with a five-year, $100 million contract.
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“The five-year, $100 million deal that Nick Castellanos signed when he joined the (Philadelphia) Phillies looks like a reasonable comparison, and while a reunion with the (Los Angeles) Dodgers remains a distinct possibility, his market could open up once the Juan Soto sweepstakes reaches its conclusion,” Reuter noted.
Stealing Hernández away from the Dodgers could be a major triumph for the Yankees. The outfielder slashed .272/.339/.501 in Los Angeles in 2024 en route to his third-career Silver Slugger Award, second All-Star game, third season of Most Valuable Player Award votes and a World Series championship.
That performance while on a one-year deal with the Dodgers has certainly driven up the value of a new contract for Hernández, and the Dodgers might decide they can let him go in free agency, with stars like Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani set to lead the batting order.
“After a good-not-great 2023 season with the (Seattle) Mariners, Teoscar Hernández settled for a one-year, $23.5 million deal from the Dodgers last offseason,” Reuter added. “He responded with a career-high 33 home runs while helping secure a World Series title, and now he stands as one of the top bats on the market.”
But a fit with the Yankees might only make sense if they lose out on the bidding for Soto and are in need of an outfield replacement. Reuter also projected the Red Sox would ultimately steal Soto away with a $675 million deal.
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