Unexpected NY Mets rumors of a Teoscar Hernandez contract offer opens up a new can

Before he went back to the Los Angeles Dodgers for three years and $66 million, Teoscar Hernandez had what feels like an unexpected suitor. Newsday’s Tim Healey delivered the belated New York Mets rumors of a two-year offer to the slugging right fielder prior to signing with the Dodgers again.

Hernandez didn’t seem like a fathomable choice for the Mets given the occupancy of Juan Soto in right field, Brandon Nimmo in left field, and Starling Marte doing who-knows-what. Coming off of a big year in Hollywood with 33 home runs and 99 RBI, Hernandez took on a big load of not having the courtesy of being a DH at all with Shohei Ohtani on the roster running away with the NL MVP.

A hypothetical deal with the Mets would have probably meant more of an outfield rotation of Hernandez, Soto, and Nimmo in the corners. The health of Nimmo might have even had him seeing some more center field duties than many of us had him penciled in for given the presence of Jose Siri and Tyrone Taylor.

Whatever the plan is, these fresh Mets rumors open up more possibilities

Would an agreement with Hernandez have necessarily facilitated an end to contract negotiations with Pete Alonso? Would it mean interest in Alex Bregman would wane? Is there a way to possibly keep Marte around whatsoever? Trading him seems like a mission of the ball club this offseason and yet believing there’d be any interest at all in an aging and expensive corner outfielder on the decline defensively with no power seems like a reach so far not even Mr. Fantastic would believe it if he saw it.

Previously reported Mets rumors of their interest in the outfield market for free agents had many of us believing a reunion with Jesse Winker was the conclusion to draw from it. Those thoughts feel like a misfire. These Mets rumors of making an offer to Hernandez suggest they could be in on just about anyone.

Among the available outfielders, only Anthony Santander quite measures up in terms of power. He might not be such a bad choice either with his history of playing some first base. Of course, like Hernandez, he does come with the qualifying offer penalty. The Mets didn’t care so much about that with Soto nor does it seem with a pursuit of Hernandez they swayed from the additional loss of two more draft picks.

One more possibility to keep an eye on is Jurickson Profar. While not nearly as powerful, he’s coming off a year with a career-high 24 home runs and 85 RBI. A .280/.380/.459 slash line to go with it, it was an impressive year for the San Diego Padres. His history as a versatile defender could always be something to re-explore if push came to shove and the team needed a little more help elsewhere.