One of the focal points of one of the most controversial trades in recent Toronto Blue Jays’ memory hits free agency for the second consecutive season. Teoscar Hernández, fresh off his first career World Series championship, had the type of contract year that should earn him well above a one-year “show me” deal after a subpar 2023 campaign. Let’s dive into his free agent profile.

Hernández had one of – if not the – best season of his career in 2024. He slashed .272/.339/.501 with an .840 OPS, 33 home runs, 99 RBIs, and 32 doubles, all numbers that were similar to his back-to-back Silver Slugger seasons in ’20 and ’21. It would’ve been easy for Hernández to fly under the radar given he was on the same team as three future Hall of Famers, but he still finished second on the team in home runs and RBIs, as well as finishing third on the team in doubles. On top of that, he did it while not playing as the DH in a single game and he also held an impressive .931 OPS in five World Series games.

Hernández’s most impressive game of the season came on June 8th against the Yankees when he went 2-for-4 with two home runs, six RBIs, and a walk on his way to an 11-3 win. That performance earned him the headline “Teoscar the Grouch” on the Sunday Sports section of the next day’s New York Post, and continued that type of mentality when he homered again in the Bronx on that Sunday. For the regular season, Hernández went 6-for-12 with a 1.988 OPS and 9 RBIs against the Yankees, and he tacked on another four RBIs during the World Series against them.

Hernández posted his second straight season of at least 150 games played, and as I previously mentioned, he played every game in one of the corner outfield spots. He avoided any “valleys” with his month-over-month stats; his worst monthly batting average was a .232 mark he had in June, but every other month was at least .254 and above including two months with a .300-plus average.

A common knock on Hernandez’s game has always been his tendency to strike out, and while he did tie for fourth in the MLB in strikeouts, it is fair to point out that he lowered his strikeout rate by almost 3% while increasing his walk rate equally as much compared to last season with the Seattle Mariners.

Hernández was nominated to his second career All-Star game and he also won the Home Run Derby during the All-Star break.

Well, there’s an obvious fit in that Hernández was a Blue Jay for five and a half seasons and was an integral part of their batting order for a majority of that time. He was quite the fan favourite, and he also drew a lot of praise from his teammates. Hernández has proven to be a force in the postseason; the last memory fans have of him in a Blue Jays uniform were his two home runs against Robbie Ray in the 2022 Wild Card series against Seattle, and his play in this year’s World Series run with the Dodgers doesn’t hurt his resume either.

The Blue Jays have a glaring need for a run producer in their lineup, particularly in the cleanup spot. It’ll get mentioned in these articles frequently, but the Blue Jays got only 12 home runs and a .689 OPS from their cleanup spot last season. Hernández made appearances in five different spots of Los Angeles’ batting order last year, but his most frequent starting spot was fourth, posting 15 homers, 46 RBIs, and an .824 OPS. The cleanup spot is also where he found his niche with the Blue Jays, filling in nicely behind Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Hernández would also be no stranger to the American League East, a division whose opponents can present problems to opposing players if they haven’t played their before. Sure, his numbers have had plenty of games to show success given his tenure with the Blue Jays, but being able to sustain that level of performance also deserves praise. For his career, Hernández has accumulated 75 home runs and 217 RBIs against AL East foes (not including Toronto), and he’s built up good numbers in opposing ballparks (yes, including the Trop).

Hernández’s contract with Los Angeles last year was one year for $23.5 million, although $8.5 million of it will be deferred between 2030 and 2039. Spotrac currently projects Hernández’s market value to be an AAV of $23.8 million, and he’s probably earned himself more than a one-year deal. Former MLB executive David Samson briefly discussed a Hernández contract on Blair and Barker last week, saying that he would give Hernández a $23 million AAV with a contract no longer than three years in length. If it were to be the Dodgers, Samson said that the AAV “wouldn’t go any higher due to luxury tax concerns that the Dodgers would have, but I would reward him with a level of certainty that comes with a moderately long-term deal of three years.”

Hernández stated after the World Series that returning to the Dodgers is a priority of his. The Blue Jays may have a shot, but the relationship between Hernández and Toronto’s front office may be tainted after the two reportedly didn’t see eye to eye last offseason.

At only 32 years of age, Hernández still has productive years in front of him. A multi-year deal should be well-within his reach. Hernández is gaining attention across the league and is attached to a qualifying offer this winter, with both the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles recently expressing interest.