Fastball

Now-Former Seattle Mariners' Slugger Drawing Interest From National League Contender

After not being given a qualifying offer this offseason, slugger Teoscar Hernandez is drawing interest from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Brady Farkas|
Now-Former Seattle Mariners' Slugger Drawing Interest From National League Contender
Now-Former Seattle Mariners' Slugger Drawing Interest From National League Contender

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Seattle Mariners

After not being given a qualifying offer, now-former Seattle Mariners' outfielder Teoscar Hernandez is drawing interest on the free agent market from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Per Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times:

One name on the Dodgers' radar: Teoscar Hernández. They could use a corner OF and they've shown interest. 

Hernández was a 2021 All-Star and has at least 22 HR in each full season since becoming a regular in 2018. He slashed .258/.305/.435 in 160 games for Seattle in 2023.

Hernandez put together a respectable season for Seattle in 2023, putting up 26 home runs and 93 RBI. He struggled to make contact though, and struck out a whopping 211 times.

However, adding him to an already-stacked Dodgers lineup that features Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy seems like a win for him and for the team. He wouldn't be forced into being the focal point of the offense, could likely hit lower in the order, and would see a lot of fastballs in that spot.

As for Seattle, despite his contact problems, replacing his production won't be easy. The Mariners are often starved for offense to pair with their excellent pitching, and guys who hit 25 homers and bring in near 100 runs don't grow on trees.

President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto has said the team wants to get more contact oriented this year, so that likely factored into the decision to not issue a qualifying offer, so we will see which way they go in their search for bats this winter.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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