Teoscar Hernández returns to Dodgers on reported 3-year, $66 million deal

Teoscar Hernández is staying with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a few more years.

The outfielder and 2024 World Series champion agreed to a three-year, $66 million deal with Los Angeles on Friday, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. The deal reportedly includes a fourth-year team option for $15 million, a $23 million signing bonus and, as is common for the Dodgers now, around $23 million in deferred money.

Hernández provided confirmation on his Instagram story.

The deal follows through on what Hernández said in the aftermath of the Dodgers' World Series championship, when he declared he would "do whatever is possible to return." There was, however, a reported gap between the player and team in negotiations a few weeks ago, which was apparently settled.

Because he rejected a qualifying offer from the Dodgers, any other team would have had to forfeit draft picks to sign Hernández.

Teoscar Hernández went from disappointing free agency to World Series champion

Hernández had one of the best year-to-year turnarounds in 2024, following a disappointing 2023 with the Seattle Mariners with a stellar performance as a Dodger. He was brought to L.A. to help boost the Shohei Ohtani-led Dodgers into a championship-caliber team, a mission that was certainly successful.

The Dominican outfielder finished the season with a .272 batting average (his best in three seasons) and a career-high 33 home runs. Hernández also ended 2024 with an .840 OPS — a full 100-point boost from his year in Seattle. As a bonus, he emerged victorious in the 2024 Home Run Derby.

His star continued to rise in the MLB playoffs, including a game-tying RBI double in Game 5 of the World Series, which the Dodgers went on to win to seal their eighth title. Hernández was ranked No. 9 on Yahoo Sports' list of this winter's top 50 free agents.

As a free agent last winter following a stint with the Mariners, Hernández signed a one-year, $23.5 million deal with the Dodgers in January, with some of that money (about $8.5 million) deferred. The contract fell short of the kind of long-term deal Hernández was hoping for, in terms of years and pay.

Now, after proving his worth in 2024 and reentering free agency, Hernández will spend the next three years in Los Angeles. By betting on himself, he has essentially earned a four-year, $89.5 million deal since his last free agency, which isn't bad considering where he was a year ago.

Dodgers' deferred money trend continues with Hernández

It shouldn't be a surprise that Hernández's deal contains deferrals.

The Dodgers have made it clear that they will defer money with any free agent willing to do it, as the contract structure saves the team immense amounts of money in competitive balance tax calculations.

Shohei Ohtani and his $680 million in deferred money is the prime example of this. Mookie Betts ($115 million), Will Smith ($50 million), Freddie Freeman ($57 million), Blake Snell ($62 million), Tommy Edman ($25 million) and now Hernández have all taken the plunge too. That adds up to more than $1 billion that will be paid out to players after their contracts are up.

The Hernández deal also checks off the last glaring need for the Dodgers this offseason. They lost Walker Buehler in free agency, on a one-year, $21 million deal with the Boston Red Sox, and still have Jack Flaherty out there, but they found quite a rotation reinforcement with Snell and have multiple starting pitchers coming back next season. They also re-signed top reliever Blake Treinen and brought in Michael Conforto to occupy right field while Hernández likely handles left.

Of course, they still probably aren't finished. Like Hernández, Clayton Kershaw said he plans to come back, and it's difficult to see the Dodgers turning him down. And then there's Roki Sasaki, the Japanese phenom who would give the Dodgers the biggest bargain of the offseason if he decides to join a pair of Samurai Japan teammates in Los Angeles.