After failing to land the biggest fish on the free agent market in slugging outfielder Juan Soto, who agreed to a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets, the Boston Red Sox have zeroed in on a new(ish) target.
The Red Sox are once again in pursuit of Teoscar Hernández, whom they tried to land last year but lost out to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who signed him to a one-year, $23.5 million contract. But now that Soto is off the market, Hernández is supply in demand, and his price tag likely just got even higher.
You would think that the Red Sox would be all in on Hernández after losing out on Soto, but recent rumblings from the MLB Winter Meetings in Dallas haven't been all that encouraging for Boston fans.
Chris Cotillo of MassLive reported over the weekend that the Red Sox "have yet to step up efforts meaningfully" in their pursuit of Hernández. This could be problematic, he noted, because the Dodgers and New York Yankees — who were also interested in Soto before he signed with the Mets — will also be Boston's chief competition to land Hernández.
Red Sox have no excuse not to land Teoscar Hernández after missing out on Juan Soto
The reunion between Hernández and the Dodgers that once felt inevitable is no longer a sure thing now that the Yankees and Red Sox are involved. In fact, the Dodgers signing free agent outfielder Michael Conforto to a one-year, $17 million contract caused speculation that Hernández may no longer be in their plans for 2025.
With that in mind, reports of Boston's lackluster effort in the pursuit of Hernández is concerning, to say the least. The Red Sox have no excuse not to pull out all the stops to try and get Hernández. The Dodgers, likely their biggest competition, aren't out of the running yet, but they don't need him as much as they did before. The Red Sox have a clear opportunity they should take advantage of before they lose out on Hernández... again.
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