Red Sox Could Sign Dodgers All-Star As Much-Needed Righty Slugger, Per Insider

Is this the star Boston needs to make it back to October?

Apr 28, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; A hat and glove of an Los Angeles Dodgers player durng a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

The number-one thing people know about Fenway Park is the 37-foot-high Green Monster in left field. Unfortunately, the Boston Red Sox may need a reminder.

Fenway is one of the best places to hit as a right-handed batter, but most of the Red Sox lineup these days is left-handed. Lefties can still take advantage of the big wall, but righties will be rewarded with the highest volume of home runs.

After an 81-81 season during which they were dominated by left-handed pitchers, the Red Sox desperately need to find some right-handed pop for their 2025 batting order. The most surefire option for doing so will be to hit the free-agent market.

One potential fit is a player with whom the Red Sox are quite familiar, even if he plays on the opposite coast now. Ian Browne of MLB.com named Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández as one of the primary free-agent targets for the Red Sox this winter.

"The Red Sox simply tilt too far left with their position-player alignment. They need to get some right-handed hitters who can take advantage of the Green Monster," Browne said. "Alex Bregman, Willy Adames and Teoscar Hernández are players who would fit in nicely."

Hernández, 31, had a fantastic season after signing a one-year, $23 million deal to play in Los Angeles. He made his second All-Star team, won the Home Run Derby in Arlington, Texas, set a new career-high with 33 home runs, and racked up an .840 OPS/137 OPS+.

If Hernández seems like a perfect fit for the Red Sox, that's likely because he is. He also crushed the ball at Fenway Park during his early career with the Toronto Blue Jays. The only issue is that the same was the case last winter, and Boston simply wasn't willing to pay him what he was worth.

Hernández told the Baseball Isn't Boring podcast earlier this year that Boston's offer to him was for two years, $28 million. He seemed somewhat insulted by the number, and if the Sox lowball him again, we can all rest assured that the slugger won't be coming to Boston.

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