Agent of Former Seattle Mariners Star Criticizes Fans on Social Media
It's been a good year for former Seattle Mariners slugger Teoscar Hernandez.
The one-time Mariners outfielder signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the offseason on a one-year, $23.5 million deal after not receiving a qualifying offer from Seattle.
So far that deal has been paying dividends for Hernandez and the Dodgers.
Hernandez batted .272 this season with 33 home runs and 99 RBIs in the regular season. For comparison, he hit .258 with 26 homers and 93 RBIs with the Mariners in 2023.
During a National League Divisional Series win against the San Diego Padres, Hernandez hit .333 (6-for-18) with two homers and seven RBIs in five games.
TEOSCAR HERNÁNDEZ GRAND SLAM!
— MLB (@MLB) October 9, 2024
WHAT IS GOING ON????? #NLDS pic.twitter.com/urE1xfJIQD
Hernandez is still just 31 years-old and his stellar season will likely lead to a multi-year deal in the offseason. Either with Los Angeles or another contender.
In hindsight, the one-year contract, essentially a prove-it deal, was a solid one for Hernandez.
But a lot of fans didn't see it that way at the time.
When Hernandez signed his one-year contract with the Dodgers, people viewed it as a ring-chasing move. Hernandez is a career .263 hitter who averages 21.4 home runs and 63.6 RBIs a season. Entering the offseason that preceded the 2024, Hernandez had at least 20 home runs and 75 RBIs in three consecutive years.
A lot of fans and even MLB agents criticized the move. And Hernandez's agent Rafa Nieves was quick to pull out the receipts on "X" (former known as Twitter).
Nieves (@mlb_agent on "X") tweeted out a long post on Sunday that detailed how the move was a good one for him and his client.
"(nine) months ago every agent criticized me and Teo for taking a 1-year deal.
The truth is, the market was soft for everyone, and he was coming off a down year while playing in a very pitcher friendly environment.
We were looking for a 3-year deal, and while reading the market and realizing that deal might not exist, I asked him what his priority was and he said he wanted to win and play deep into October, so we pivoted and focused on getting the best short term deal on the best team interested.
Here we are 9 months later:
Career high HR
Career high wRC+
Career high rWAR
All-Star
Home Run Derby Champ
Best regular season record in MLB
NLCS appearance
He will win his 3rd Silver Slugger, and will probably get some MVP votes.
On top of that, he made more money this year than he would have made on that 3-year deal and now he will go back out on the market after a career year.
Who’s laughing now?"
9 months ago every agent criticized me and Teo for taking a 1-year deal.
— Rafa Nieves (@mlb_agent) October 13, 2024
The truth is, the market was soft for everyone, and he was coming off a down year while playing in a very pitcher friendly environment.
We were looking for a 3-year deal, and while reading the market and… pic.twitter.com/f0ewopyIqB
The "pitcher-friendly environment" line could be seen as a shot at Seattle's home field of T-Mobile Park. It's been viewed as a field that's not friendly to hitters in years past. Hernandez himself criticized the park during the All-Star break and said he never could get comfortable.
“For some reason I couldn’t figure it out,” Hernández said on July 15 via an article by the Seattle Times' Adam Jude. “I couldn’t feel good at the plate at home.”
Nieves is also the agent of current Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo and outfielder Victor Robles.
Castillo's deal runs through 2027 with a vesting option for 2028. He's making $24.15 million a year through 2027.
After a career-resurgent season, Robles signed a two-year, $9.75 million contract extension with Seattle in 2024 with a $9 million club option for 2027.
It's interesting that Nieves took a slight shot at T-Mobile Park with two high-profile clients signed to the team for the next several seasons.
But that one line doesn't overshadow Nieves' general point about Hernandez.
There's a very good chance that Hernandez could end up being the second-most important player on a World Series champion. Just a little under a year after a Mariners team, which missed the postseason for the 22nd time in 23 years in 2024, essentially said he wasn't worth paying by not extending a qualifying offer.
It would've been interesting to see what Hernandez could have done with a lowly Seattle offense in 2024, and what he could've done under the coaching of hitting instructor Edgar Martnez.
But there's no point in worrying about what-ifs now. And it'll be interesting to see how this success translates for Hernandez in the offseason.
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