When it comes to free agent signings, none was bigger than Shohei Ohtani joining the Los Angeles Dodgers this winter. Ohtani was the most coveted free agent the league has seen in years. But it's hard to ignore the impact that Teoscar Hernandez has had with the Dodgers this season.
Ohtani, even though he's set to not make one start on the mound, or possibly play in the field whatsoever this season, was expected to be great. And he's well lived up to those expectations, leading the league in batting average and ranking second in most other offensive categories, including homers and slugging. Hernandez, however, has been a spark to the Dodgers' lineup that maybe not most expected.
Once you get through all the future hall of famers on the team—and there's plenty—it's easy to understand how Hernandez's contributions could be overlooked.
After spending most of his career with the Toronto Blue Jays, Hernandez hit free agency last season and ended up in Seattle with the Mariners. He fell just shy of his average .260 and accrued over 200 strikeouts. But the Dodgers felt he was adding to their already daunting lineup this season that needed help on the backend, plus another right-handed bat to balance out all the lefties on the team.
Teoscar Hernandez has improved with the Dodgers
To no surprise, he's seemed to flourish this season in Los Angeles. That, of course, helps when you have all those studs batting ahead of you. But when the lineup has also lost guys for extended periods of time, like Max Muncy, Jason Heyward, and now even Mookie Betts, the 31-year-old's contributions can't be overlooked.
Right now, Hernandez is actually four points lower than his batting average last year, sitting at .254 as of this writing. But his strikeout percentage has gone down by three percent (per FanGraphs), which isn't much but does show improvement. His walk percentage is also up nearly two percent. That's probably thanks to his better plate discipline, where he has cut down on his swings outside the strike zone, swinging 29.3 percent of the time this season compared to last year's 34.5 percent. Not to mention, his contact percentage in the zone has improved by just under three percent.
Last season, he had 26 homers. This season, he's already got 19 before the All-Star break. His career-high is 32 back in 2021, his only All-Star season.
Teoscar Hernandez has fit right in with Dodgers
When it comes to adding someone off free agency, it's important that they're good clubhouse guys as well, so they don't interrupt the cohesiveness of well-established teams, especially one like the Dodgers. That's another reason why Hernandez has made such a perfect fit for the team.
“One thing about Hernandez,” ESPN Senior Writer David Schoenfield said, “He's a high-energy, positive clubhouse guy. For a team that has won as much as the Dodgers over the past decade—while winning the World Series just once (and that comes with an asterisk)—it made sense to not only add some new blood but add a player like Hernandez, who was going to fit in not just in the lineup but off the field as well.”
Hernandez's positive, high-energy certainly comes through in his play, where he's come up clutch or helped extend leads. In the Dodgers' current series with National League West rival Arizona Diamondbacks, he is 4-for-9 with one homer and four RBIs. In Game 1 of the series, he hit a walk-off single, and then in Game 2, he hit a first-inning home run to extend the lead 4-1.
“Teoscar Hernández has turned into the biggest steal of the offseason,” Noah Camras at Dodger Nation said. “What a hit for him and what a moment for the Dodgers to come back in the 9th to win on a walk-off.”
Hernandez was not named to the list of National League All-Star starters but still could be named to the roster later on. Whether he gets named to the Midsummer Classic or not, Hernandez has been an absolute steal for the Dodgers, one of the best free agent signings for any team this season.
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