Teoscar Hernandez Just Threw Salt in the Wound For All Boston Red Sox Fans
The recent comments by Los Angeles Dodgers' outfielder Teoscar Hernandez are sure to upset Boston Red Sox fans even more.
Appearing on the 'Flippin' Bats' podcast with Ben Verlander, Hernandez confirmed that the Red Sox were one of his two finalists this offseason. He said that the Red Sox refused to go above a two-year offer and that he wanted more out of them, but they wouldn't budge.
He also said that Fenway Park is his favorite ballpark to play in, which means that the team should have had an even easier time getting a deal done.
A few things to consider here:
1) This entire Red Sox offseason has been marred by the team's lack of spending and its lack of commitment to building a winner in 2024. Here, you had an accomplished player and a former All-Star that wanted to play for you and loves your ballpark, and you still were unwilling and unable to close the deal. That won't sit well with fans.
2) Hernandez seemingly could have done significant damage at Fenway. As a right-handed hitter who loves to pull the ball, he could have peppered the Green Monster. Given that he's 31 years old, it's understandable that the team didn't want to go crazy in the number of years given, but you'd have to think that three years was reasonably fair. Perhaps they worried about his ability to play defense at the end of the deal and didn't want to saddle the roster with both his and Masataka Yoshida's defense.
3) We have to remember that the team acquired Tyler O'Neil earlier in the offseason, so maybe they just felt they didn't need to extend for Hernandez since they already had a right-handed hitting outfielder.
Either way, Hernandez is now in Los Angeles where he'll work to win a World Series with the loaded Dodgers. Hernandez is a lifetime .261 hitter with 159 homers over an eight-year career with the Astros, Blue Jays and Mariners.
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