5:37 p.m.: ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the deal includes just over $23 million in deferrals as well as a $23 million signing bonus. Passan adds that there is an option for a fourth season worth $15 million.

5:32 p.m.: The Dodgers re-sign Teoscar Hernandez with a three-year contract that guarantees $66 million. Dominican reporter Yancen Pujols first reported that the sides would strike a deal on those terms, while MassLive’s Chris Cotillo confirmed there was an agreement.

Hernández receives the three-year contract he was seeking to return to Los Angeles. The slugger had called returning to the Dodgers a priority after a great first season with the team. Hernández slashed .272/.339/.501 with 33 home runs and 652 plate appearances this year. He carried that strong performance into the postseason, hitting .250/.352/.417 with three longballs in 16 games to help the Dodgers to their second championship in five years.

This was the ideal outcome for a player on a cushion contract. Hernández hit free agency last winter after a mediocre season in Seattle. He had posted a pedestrian .258/.305/.435 average over 678 plate appearances as a Mariner. As a result, Hernández did not find the lucrative long-term offer he was looking for. While the Red Sox offered him a two-year contract with $28 million guaranteed, he signed for one season with the goal of restoring his market value.

Things couldn’t have gone much better for both sides. Hernández had one of the best seasons of his career. He received his second All-Star award and the Silver Slugger Award while receiving down-ballot MVP votes for the third time. Hernández reached a new career high in home runs with rate statistics consistent with his best years in Toronto. He was instrumental in the championship.

The bad year 2023 looks like an anomaly. He’s hardly the only veteran hitter struggling in Seattle’s extremely pitcher-friendly home park. Hernández has been an impact hitter in each of the other four seasons since his breakout season in 2020. Over the last five years, he owned a batting line of .274/.328/.493 in nearly 2,700 trips to the plate. There will be a decent number of strikeouts, but few players hit the ball that hard. Hernández is an annual threat for 30+ doubles and at least 25-30 home runs.

Hernández was the only key offensive player the Dodgers feared losing in free agency. He will return to join Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, Max Muncy, Tommy Edman And Gavin Lux in a serious crime. The Dodgers added Michael Conforto with a one-year, $17 million contract at the Winter Meetings. No other team can match the power of the LA lineup.

The Dodgers are taking some risk from a defensive standpoint. Despite his outstanding arm strength and surprising athleticism, Hernández was never considered a good defender. That continued this season too. Defensive Runs Saved felt he was three runs below average in his 1,308 combined innings between the outfield corner spots. Statcast graded him much harsher, estimating him to be 11 runs below average.

It’s unlikely Hernández will improve on that side of the ball with his contract running until age 34. An ideal landing spot would have allowed him to move up to designated hitter in his second or third year. That’s not an option on a team with Ohtani. The Dodgers move Betts to shortstop and will have Edman flanked in the outfield by Hernández and Conforto. They accept a mediocre defensive outfield in order to be able to put good hitters in the lineup.

The addition of Conforto and the re-signing of Hernández are blocking the youngsters’ path to everyday batting Andy Pages And James Outman. The latter feels like a candidate for a change of scenery after a disappointing second MLB season. The Dodgers will likely be less inclined to trade the 24-year-old Pages, who had a league average of .248/.305/.407 as a rookie. He still has a minor league option left, so they could use him in Triple-A if they don’t want to limit him to fourth outfield work.

Pages has nothing else to prove in the minors, but the Dodgers have the resources to keep reloading. Other teams expect to at least poach him through a trade, although LA may prefer to keep him as a replacement for Conforto after next season. signing Blake Snell and keep Blake Treinen Entering the winter, the Dodgers have no clear holes in their roster.

At the start of the offseason, MLBTR predicted Hernández would receive a three-year, $60 million contract. It will end up slightly above this forecast in raw money, although the deferrals will reduce the net present value to some extent. A three-year, $66 million contract without deferrals would come with a competitive accounting tax bill of $22 million. Hernández’s number will end up being slightly lower. The specific payout structure, which has not yet been fully disclosed, will determine how MLB calculates the contract for tax purposes.

Including Hernández, RosterResource estimates the Dodgers’ luxury tax bill to be around $353 million pending deferral details. They are well above the $301 million mark, which represents the final level of tax deprivation. You will be taxed at a rate of 110% on the final AAV. Re-signing Hernández will likely cost them more than $40 million after taxes next year. The Dodgers were undeterred by the CBT and are pushing for a repeat.

Hernández had rejected a qualified offer. Other teams would have had to forgo a draft choice to sign him. The Dodgers are simply giving up the right to receive a 2025 compensation pick, which would have come after the fourth round. The Blue Jays and Red Sox have also been linked to Hernández this winter. You could turn to these clubs (especially Toronto). Anthony Santanderwho is considered the clear top outfielder without a contract. Jurickson Profar is a step or two below as the next best field bat.

More will follow.