What does the Mets failed pursuit of Teoscar Hernández mean?

The Mets reportedly tried to sign Teoscar Hernández to a two-year contract before he went back to LA

What’s up with the Mets? 🍎

• The Mets had interest in signing OF Teoscar Hernández to a two-year contract with a similar average annual value (no deferrals) to that which he ultimately took in a three-year deal from the Dodgers (Newsday | Athletic)

• The Mets remain interested in signing Jesse Winker (Athletic)

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Rumor Mill 💨

• The Giants have Pete Alonso on their radar (SF Chronicle)

• The Dodgers met with RHP Rōki Sasaki (OC Register)

• The Red Sox have shown an unwillingness to trade 1B Triston Casas to the Mariners for RHP Luis Castillo unless Seattle took Masataka Yoshida as well (MLB.com)

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What the Mets failed pursuit of Teoscar Hernández might mean… ✍️

The Mets reportedly attempted to sign OF Teoscar Hernández to a two-year contract before he took a three-year deal from the Dodgers earlier this week. The Mets deal had no deferrals, whereas the Dodger team contains deferrals.

First off, unless someone was to blow away the 32-year-old offense-first outfielder, it always seemed inevitable he was going back to Los Angeles. He had said he wanted to go back, he fit in perfectly into their lineup and system, they just won a championship; it all made way too much sense.

Of course, that didn’t stop other teams from pursuing him. He’s a free agent and, well, you never really know what a player is thinking.

The interesting part about this is the Mets’ apparent interest, and what it means going forward this winter.

Let’s fantasize for a second and think about what it would have meant for the Mets roster.

It probably meant they were willing to move Brandon Nimmo back to centerfield to open up the corners for Hernández and Juan Soto. That probably would’ve resulted in the Mets dealing (or attempting to deal) Starling Marte and perhaps one of Tyrone Taylor or José Siri.

Moving Marte’s $19.5 million salary or even a part of it would’ve helped offset the weight of additional luxury tax penalties incurred by adding Hernández’s salary.

OK - the fantasy is over. Hernández is a Dodger.

But in the end, it wasn’t so much about Hernández as much as the meaning of the pursuit.

The obvious answer is they want to add more thump, fulfilling the promise they made to Soto that they would in fact supplement the lineup and provide protection.

But, they could do that easily with just the re-addition of Pete Alonso to the lineup.

So, what’s going on here?

First off, I don’t think this means the Mets are moving on from Alonso despite the lack of momentum towards a deal right now. Hernández can’t play a corner infield spot and I really don’t think they’re about to just hand the keys to Mark Vientos at first base and Brett Baty at third.

Rather, this would be in addition to Alonso. It tells me the Mets may want to get a little more right-handed than they are or even would be with Alonso.

Remember, Francisco Lindor is a switch hitter, but Soto is a left-handed hitter, so is Nimmo, and so is Jeff McNeil. Adding Hernandez or another consistent right-handed hitter to the middle of the lineup in addition to Alonso would strike an even greater balance for the offense, which is formidable now and would be more formidable with Alonso alone, albeit light on right-handed power.

But it could very well be simpler than that and not as much about creating balance. After all, they were also reportedly interested in left-handed hitting designated hitter Joc Pederson before he signed a two-year contract with the Rangers.

Perhaps it’s just a matter of the Mets just looking to make the everyday lineup as deep as possible, which plays into the continued buzz around the Mets signing both Alonso and Alex Bregman.

I am still not entirely buying that the Mets would sign both Alonso and Bregman, mostly because I don’t know if it’s practical to lock up three infield positions to 30+ players to long-term deals (Lindor, Alonso, Bregman will all be over 30 on Opening Day), and it still has to be assumed Alonso and Bregman are going to get at least four years in their next contracts. The two-year bid on Hernandez is indicative of that as well, as it was a short-term and he is not an infielder.

But all of this makes it clear they’d like to get two everyday bats, even if it’s not the combination everyone has envisioned. They’re aiming higher than situational hitters, proven by their attempt to lure Hernandez and their continued link to Bregman and further demonstrates they’re not concerning themselves that much with the cost in draft compensation under the right circumstances.

Of course, maybe that bat is eventually Jesse Winker, who said he would be interested in coming back, is a solid utility outfielder albeit from the left side, is popular among the fans, and was a massive add for their clubhouse in 2024. He wouldn’t cost any picks, would be a lot cheaper than most and would be a fine piece for this roster.

But he’s not an everyday player like Hernandez or Bregman.

Maybe that bat could be the switch-hitting Anthony Santander if his ask comes down and he’d take a shorter-term deal. That would probably rule out a return for Winker, but it would mean they’d probably keep Nimmo in left field and both Siri and Taylor on the roster, as Santander would profile more as a left-handed power-hitting designated hitter than a right fielder on this roster. He isn’t an ideal fit as a result, which could limit their interest in him.

They could also take a look at a reunion with Justin Turner or even JD Martínez if he is still playing (he was noncommittal on that subject at the end of the NLCS) if other options don’t work out. Of course, they might get similar value with Marte in these cases.

Or, maybe it is in fact Bregman who, like Santander, would cost a draft pick too but is in a different class all-around than Santander because of his Gold Glove defense. He would certainly check all of the boxes for the Mets - he’s a strong right-handed bat and a strong defensive corner infielder as well. His average annual value wouldn’t likely be too far north of Hernandez’s $22 million salary (figure $25-27 million, over a longer period of time, of course), either and would cost them the same picks they were willing to relinquish to sign Hernandez who is older and less valuable.

Time will tell, but this is all plenty of evidence that the Mets are still on the lookout to complete what could end up being a super lineup in 2025, and relinquishing draft picks in an effort to aim high isn’t a deterrent for them.