The Red Sox don’t need a full-blown overhaul this winter. They need one real middle-of-the-order bat, preferably one with right-handed pop, and Teoscar Hernandez fits that brief as cleanly as anyone Boston could chase.
That’s the appeal here: Boston already looks sturdier than it did a year ago after the additions it made during the season. Even after an early playoff exit, the roster is not being rebuilt from the ground up.
Guys like Adley Rutschman and Curtis Mead, both under team control beyond 2026, give the Red Sox a better base heading into 2027, and Willson Contreras, acquired last offseason, is still in the organization. The issue isn’t depth of plan.
It’s adding the one bat that changes the shape of the lineup.
Hernandez could become available if the Dodgers decide they need room for their top outfield prospects. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal pointed out that the path to those young outfielders reaching the majors may require Los Angeles to move Hernandez first.
"The Dodgers’ farm system remains elite, creating the potential to inject youth. Most of their best prospects, however, are outfielders. There won’t be a spot for any of them next season, unless the Dodgers trade left fielder Teoscar Hernandez," Rosenthal wrote.
If that door opens, Boston should be right there. Hernandez has the kind of power the Red Sox have been missing, and the production backs it up: 16 home runs and 64 RBIs in 2026 in 125 games, 25 home runs and 89 RBIs in 2025, and 33 home runs and 99 RBIs in 154 games in 2024.
There’s also a fit issue that works in Boston’s favor. Hernandez was linked to the Red Sox when he was last on the market, so this wouldn’t be some brand-new idea.
And compared with paying up for someone like Randy Arozarena or Seiya Suzuki, he could be the more sensible play. The free-agent pool is thin this winter, which could push the price up on the top names, and both Arozarena and Suzuki come with their own questions.
Hernandez is also not a rental in the usual sense. He’ll make just over $17 million in 2027 and has a $15 million club option for 2028, which gives Boston a more manageable financial lane. That matters, because it would leave room to do other things, including a possible extension for Rutschman.
If the Dodgers put Hernandez on the market, he looks like the cleanest answer to Boston’s power problem. He could step in as the designated hitter from Day 1, and the Red Sox would be better for it.
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One possible avenue remains a familiar one, with San Diego still in the market for outfield help as it braces for possible free-agent departures. For Boston, the appeal is obvious: if there is a way to turn Duran into a cleaner fit elsewhere, it could open the door to a more balanced roster. The question now is whether the market brings the kind of return that makes the Red Sox comfortable finally moving on. [Read more 🡒]