Former Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners' OF Drawing Interest in FA From Multiple AL Clubs

Former Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners outfielder Teoscar Hernandez is reportedly drawing interest from both the Los Angeles Angels and the Boston Red Sox. Hernandez is a free agent.

According to Ken Rosenthal of 'The Athletic,' former Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners outfielder Teoscar Hernandez is drawing interest on the free agent market from the Los Angeles Angels and Boston Red Sox.

Per Rosenthal:

As active as the Angels are in the trade market, it behooves them to check in on most of the top remaining free agents, and they are doing that, from left-hander Blake Snell to outfielder Teoscar Hernández.

• The Red Sox are another club showing interest in Teoscar Hernández, who has averaged 26 homers in his last five full seasons and boasts a career OPS+ 18 percent above league average.

Hernandez is an unrestricted free agent because the Mariners declined to offer him a qualifying offer this offseason. The lack of draft pick compensation tied to a signing of him certainly makes him more appealing as a target.

The 31-year-old outfielder is coming off a year in which he hit .258 for Seattle with 26 homers. He's played eight years in the big leagues with the Astros, Blue Jays and Mariners. He was an All-Star in 2021 with Toronto and has hit 159 career home runs. 

The reported interest from the Angels makes sense. The team needs to replace the production lost by seeing Shohei Ohtani go in free agency. Hernandez likely can't replicate everything that Ohtani did, but he can put a dent in that.

As for the Red Sox, the interest is a little more confounding. The team has Jarren Duran, Tyler O'Neil, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela, Masataka Yoshida, and Rob Refsnyder in the outfield already. Hernandez would represent an offensive upgrade over any of those players, but the team needs pitching more than another outfielder.

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