Teoscar Hernández apparently is telling folks around Major League Baseball that yesterday’s price is not today’s price.
Hernández entered the offseason as one of the most coveted bats available in free agency. But with Juan Soto off the board and set to join the New York Mets, the two-time All-Star might now be the most coveted bat on the open market.
In turn, Hernández and his team reportedly have spiked the cost of the veteran slugger’s services.
“According to sources, Hernández’s asking price was being influenced by the perceived post-Soto desperation,” Audacy’s Rob Bradford wrote in a column published Wednesday. “It was making some of the outfield’s potential suitors – including the Red Sox – investigate other options to fill the role of a lefty-torturing right-handed bat.”
At this point, an interested team probably will need to go the extra financial mile to sign Hernández. The New York Yankees on Tuesday deemed that strategy necessary to pick up Max Fried, who became the club’s marquee offseason addition after it missed out on Soto.
The Red Sox have other pressing needs to address, so time will tell if they find common ground with Hernández. But a recent report indicated Boston planned to be “aggressive” in its efforts to land the 2024 World Series champion.
