DALLAS – As of early Sunday evening, the Red Sox are still believed to be in the Juan Soto sweepstakes.
That doesn’t mean they’re putting all their eggs in the superstar’s basket, though, especially with the Mets and Yankees reportedly upping their respective offers to more than $700 million. In an MLB Network interview just after 6 p.m. Sunday, insider Jon Heyman reported that the Yankees “seem a little more confident than some of the other teams, Boston a little bit less confident than some of the other teams,” with the Mets “kind of in the middle.”
Thus, the Red Sox have Teoscar Hernandez in their sights for the second offseason in a row. They made the hard-hitting outfielder a multi-year offer last winter, but he opted to take a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The decision paid off for Hernandez, who enjoyed a bounce-back season and won a World Series ring.
Hernandez’s righty bat would bring a measure of balance to Boston’s left-heavy lineup. In his age-31 season this year, he hit .272 with a .840 OPS in the regular season. In 16 postseason games, he homered three times.
However, previously stated that re-signing with the Dodgers was “the priority” for him this offseason. That feeling is reportedly mutual, to some extent. The Dodgers have been in discussion with Hernandez about a new contract, but have held off on making it official because they’re still in the running for Soto.
It’s a significant gamble for Los Angeles. Soto’s other suitors have similar variations of Boston’s contingency plan. The Yankees, who were recently tormented by Hernandez in the World Series, are also interested.
There’s also switch-hitting outfielder Anthony Santander, who seems unlikely to return to the Orioles now that they’ve signed Tyler O’Neill to a three-year deal, but MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported Sunday afternoon that Boston prefers Hernandez. According to Feinsand, the Blue Jays would prefer Santander over a reunion with Hernandez, who spent six of his first eight big-league seasons in Toronto.
