The Los Angeles Dodgers have spent the trade-deadline season connected to nearly every prominent player available. Now, one of their own veterans has unexpectedly entered the conversation.
During a Threads question-and-answer session, ESPN insider Jeff Passan identified Teoscar Hernández as an under-the-radar possibility for the New York Yankees. “With the lack of RHH and the Dodgers’ minor league outfield depth, Hernández could potentially be on the move,” Passan wrote.
Passan did not report active talks. Brandon Glick of Dodgers Way framed the idea as a conflict between roster logic and the emotional cost of moving a fan favorite. Yet Hernández’s declining production gives president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman reason to listen.
He is signed through 2027, with a $15 million club option for 2028.
Teoscar Hernández’s Power Has Continued to Decline
GettyTeoscar Hernández #37 of the Los Angeles Dodgers in action against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium on April 24, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Hernández entered July 30 hitting .247/.317/.386 with eight home runs, 37 RBI and a 94 wRC+ through 73 games, according to FanGraphs. That makes him six percent worse than the league-average hitter after adjusting for park and run environment.
That leaves him at 0.5 fWAR, close to the 0.6 he delivered over the entire 2025 campaign for Los Angeles.
The comparison with 2025 hardly helps. Hernández hit the same .247 last season, but he slugged .454, produced 25 homers and drove in 89 runs across 134 games. His .738 OPS and 102 wRC+ already represented a significant step backward from his 33-homer, .840-OPS All-Star campaign in 2024.
Now the power has slipped further. His isolated power has fallen from .229 in 2024 to .207 last season and .139 this year. Baseball Savant also shows his barrel rate dropping from 15 percent to 11.5 percent and then 8.8 percent over that span. His 89.2 mph average exit velocity marks another three-year low.
A left hamstring strain cost Hernández a month, and he has struggled since returning June 29. That injury offers some explanation, but the underlying trend started well before this latest setback.
Dodgers Cannot Create Another Hole in Their Lineup
GettyTeoscar Hernandez #37 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts at second base after his eighth inning RBI ground rule double against the New York Yankees in game one of a double header at Yankee Stadium on July 19, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Trading Hernández would clear future money and create a path for prospects such as Josue De Paula, Zyhir Hope and Mike Sirota. It could also produce a better return than expected because contenders have few established right-handed outfield bats to pursue.
However, that scarcity cuts both ways.
Andy Pages has emerged as a dependable center fielder, but Kyle Tucker has endured his own disappointing season. Removing Hernández without adding a more productive major-league bat would leave the Dodgers asking an unproven prospect or reserve to stabilize a lineup whose July wRC+ ranked 23rd in MLB through July 24.
Hernández’s popularity and postseason résumé should not make him untouchable. His current production is replaceable. But Los Angeles should only make that emotional move if it turns his roster spot into an immediate upgrade—not merely payroll relief or another prospect for an already crowded farm system.
Dodgers Fan Favorite Floated as Potential Trade Candidate Amid Offensive Slide