| Teoscar Hernández | |
|---|---|
_(50161534636).jpg) Hernández with theToronto Blue Jays in 2020 | |
| Los Angeles Dodgers – No. 37 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: (1992-10-15)October 15, 1992 (age 33) Cotuí, Sánchez Ramírez,Dominican Republic | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 12, 2016, for the Houston Astros | |
| MLB statistics (through 2025 season) | |
| Batting average | .261 |
| Hits | 1,054 |
| Home runs | 217 |
| Runs batted in | 661 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Teoscar José Hernández (Spanish pronunciation:[teˈoskaɾxoˈseeɾˈnandes]; born October 15, 1992), nicknamed"Teo", is a Dominican professionalbaseballoutfielder for theLos Angeles Dodgers ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for theHouston Astros,Toronto Blue Jays, andSeattle Mariners. Hernández made his MLB debut in 2016 with the Astros. He has won threeSilver Slugger Awards and was anAll-Star in2021 and2024. With the Dodgers, he won the2024 and2025 World Series.
Hernández signed with theHouston Astros as an international free agent in February 2011.[1] He made his professional debut that season for theDominican Summer League Astros, where he was named the team's MVP.[2] In 2012, Hernández played with theRookie-levelGulf Coast Astros andSingle-ALexington Legends. He appeared in 59 total games between the two affiliates, and recorded a .243batting average, fivehome runs, 23runs batted in (RBI), and 11stolen bases.[3] Hernández played the entire 2013 season with the Single-AQuad City River Bandits, and hit .271 with 13 home runs, 55 RBI, and 24 stolen bases.[3][4] During the offseason, Hernández appeared in 23 games for theToros del Este of theDominican Winter League.[3]
Hernández started 2014 with theLancaster JetHawks of theHigh-ACalifornia League, and was promoted to theCorpus Christi Hooks of theDouble-ATexas League during the season.[5] In 119 games, Hernández hit .292 with 21 home runs, 85 RBI, and 33 stolen bases.[3]
Hernández played the entire 2015 season with Double-A Corpus Christi, batting .219 with 17 home runs, 48 RBI, and 33 stolen bases in 119 games.[3] He began the 2016 season with Corpus Christi, and was promoted to theFresno Grizzlies of theTriple-APacific Coast League in late June.[3]
On August 12, 2016, the Astros promoted Hernández to the major leagues,[6] and he made his MLB debut as the startingcenter fielder against theToronto Blue Jays that day, recording two hits in four at-bats. His first big league hit was a home run off ofFrancisco Liriano in the sixth inning.[7] He remained with the Astros through the end of the 2016 season and hit .230 with four home runs and 11 RBI in 41 games.[8] In the minors that year, he batted .307 in 107 games, with 10 home runs, 53 RBI, and 34 stolen bases.[3]
Hernández was optioned to Triple-A Fresno to begin the 2017 season[9] but was recalled on April 25 to replace an injuredJake Marisnick.[10] However, he was injured in a collision with teammateJose Altuve in his first game and went on thedisabled list.[11]
On July 31, 2017, the Astros traded Hernández andNori Aoki to theToronto Blue Jays for Francisco Liriano.[12] He was assigned to the Triple-ABuffalo Bisons[13] and joined the Blue Jays on September 1.[14] On September 10, Hernández hit two home runs against theDetroit Tigers, the first multi home run game of his career.[15] In 26 games played, Hernández hit .261 with eight home runs and 20 RBIs.[8]
Hernández started the 2018 season with Buffalo and was recalled on April 13 whenJosh Donaldson was placed on the disabled list.[16] Though he struggled defensively in left field during his first full major league season, Hernández emerged as one of Toronto's top offensive players, slugging 51extra-base hits in his first 100 games.[17] In 134 games for the Blue Jays, he hit .239 with 22 home runs.[8] He struggled through the first two months of the season in 2019, hitting .189 with three home runs. He was optioned to Triple-A on May 16[18] for two weeks and returned to the major league team to play center field,[19] finishing the season with a .230 batting average and 26 home runs in 125 games.[8]
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With the Blue Jays in 2020, Hernández batted .289 with 16 home runs and 34 RBIs in 50 games,[2] winning theAmerican League (AL)Silver Slugger Award for right field in theshortened season and having the fourth-best rate of at-bats per home run in the league.[20] He also made his postseason debut, getting one hit in seven at-bats for the Blue Jays in theWild Card Series.[8]
In 2021, Hernández started for the AL in theAll-Star Game, his first All-Star selection,[21] and finished the season batting .296 with 32 home runs, and a career-high 116 RBIs.[8] He also won a Silver Slugger award for the second year in a row.[22]
On March 22, 2022, Hernández signed a $10.65 million contract with the Blue Jays, avoiding salary arbitration.[23] He hit .267 with 25 home runs and 77 RBI during the season[8] and hit two home runs for the Blue Jays in the second game of theWild Card Series, which the Jays lost to theSeattle Mariners.[24]
On November 16, 2022, the Blue Jays traded Hernández to the Mariners for pitchersErik Swanson andAdam Macko.[25] He lost hissalary arbitration case and received a one-year, $14 million contract on February 18, 2023, after seeking $16.5 million.[26] Hernández played in 160 games for Seattle in 2023, hitting .258 with 26 homers and 93 RBI.[8] His 211 strikeouts were second-most in the AL, three fewer than teammateEugenio Suárez.[27] Hernández hit noticeably worse atT-Mobile Park and said he struggled with the batter's eye at Seattle's home stadium.[28][29] He electedfree agency on November 2.[2]
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On January 12, 2024, Hernández signed a one-year, $23.5 million contract with theLos Angeles Dodgers.[30] He won theNational League (NL)Player of the Week Award for the week of June 3–9 after he was 9 for 25 with four home runs, three doubles, six runs scored, and 10 RBI during that span.[31] He was selected to theAll-Star Game, his second such selection.[32] He won theMLB Home Run Derby, the first Dodger to win the contest.[33] He finished the regular season with a .272 average, a career-high 33 home runs, and 99 RBIs in 154 games.[8]
Hernández hit a grand slam in Game 3 of theNL Division Series (NLDS),[34] a loss to theSan Diego Padres. He then hit another home run in Game 5 to help the Dodgers win the series.[35] He had six hits in 18 at-bats in the series with seven RBI. He struggled in theNL Championship Series (NLCS) against theNew York Mets, recording two hits in 22 at-bats with one RBI. Hernández hit .350 in theWorld Series against theNew York Yankees with one home run and 4 RBI in five games, including a game-tying two-run double offGerrit Cole as part of a five-run rally in the 5th inning of the deciding Game 5 as the Dodgers won the series.[24]
On January 3, 2025, Hernández signed a three-year, $66 million contract to remain with the Dodgers.[36] Hernández started his second year with the Dodgers as the right fielder on March 18 against theChicago Cubs in Tokyo, as part of theMLB Tokyo Series. In the game, Hernández went 1-for-4 with an RBI single in the Dodgers' win.[37] On April 27, he hit his 200th career home run in the bottom of the fifth inning against thePittsburgh Pirates'Bailey Falter.[38] On July 3, Hernández recorded his 1,000th career hit in the top of the fifth inning against theChicago White Sox[39] He played in 134 games during the season, with aslash line of .247/.284/.454, his lowest offensive production since 2019. He did hit 25 home runs and drive in 89 RBI.[8] He also struggled defensively at times during the season.[40]
Hernández began the postseason by hitting two home runs in the opening game of theWild Card Series against theCincinnati Reds.[41] He had four hits total in the two games. In theNLDS andNLCS combined, he had seven hits in 31 at-bats with two home runs and five RBI. Hernández won his second consecutive championship when the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays in seven games in theWorld Series.[42] He had seven hits in 29 at-bats with one home run and two RBI in the series.[24]
Hernández has played for theDominican Republic in international tournaments. Hernández played in the2015 WBSC Premier12, getting five hits, including a home run and a double, in 15 at bats.[43] He played for the Dominican Republic in the2023 World Baseball Classic, batting 0-for-5 over four games with two walks.[44]
The name "Teoscar" is aportmanteau of the first three letters of each of his parents' names - Teófilo (father) and Carmen (mother) - with an "S" added in the center.[45]
Hernández and his wife have three sons.[2][46]
Hernández is nicknamed "Mr. Seeds"[47] because he regularly throws sunflower seeds at his teammates after they hit home runs. He said in 2024 that he began this celebration in 2017 with the Blue Jays, saying, "We had a bunch (of seeds). So I started throwing and throwing and throwing."[48]
