After their many pitching additions this offseason, a right-handed bat has become the Boston Red Sox's No. 1 priority.
They've shown interest in Alex Bregman and Teoscar Hernández, but the Los Angeles Dodgers beat them to the punch for the outfielder again. He and the Dodgers are in agreement on a three-year, $66 million deal, per Yancen Pujols and Chris Cotillo of MassLive.
There was no shortage of rumors about where Hernández would sign after he won a World Series with the Dodgers to cap off a rebound season, but Los Angeles and Boston seemed like the two most likely destinations for the veteran. Talks between Hernández and the Dodgers reportedly stalled in recent weeks, to the point that they began exploring other right-handed options.
Cotillo reported on Dec. 23 that the Red Sox hadn't increased their efforts to sign Hernández, even with LA allegedly falling out of the picture. Another righty bat is now off the table — arguably, the best one available this offseason — and the Red Sox are running out of options yet again.
Teoscar Hernández re-signs with the Dodgers as the Red Sox whiff on yet another free agent target
Source: Teóscar Hernández going back to Los Ángeles Dodgers on a three year, 66 million dollar deal. Ya you know.
— Yancen Pujols (@YancenPujols) December 27, 2024
Hernández batted .272/.339/.501 with a .840 OPS and a career-high 33 homers over 154 games with the Dodgers last season. The righty's power would've been well suited to Fenway Park, as he's shown before with a career .282/.344/.606 slash line and .950 OPS over 45 appearances in Boston.
The Red Sox are now left with Bregman as the best right-handed bat remaining on the free agent market. The 32-year-old has already declined a six-year, $156 million offer from the Astros, and reports suggest he and Pete Alonso, the other remaining righty power bat on the market, at least $200 million from a potential new team. Boston hasn't shown any inclination to give out long-term contracts in recent years, and after the way the Trevor Story signing has gone, it's hard to believe it'd dish out a similar deal for another aging infielder.
The Red Sox could've signed Hernández for less than half the time and money Bregman and Alonso reportedly demand. Boston continues to be its own worst enemy in free agent negotiations, even when the contract price doesn't break the bank.