Teoscar Hernández earned another shot with the Blue Jays… with his glove!

Former Blue Jays outfielder Teoscar Hernández will be a free agent next month, and he’s certainly building a case for a big contract to see him through to the end of his career after helping the Dodgers to what looks like a second World Series championship this decade.

While the Dodgers could extend a $21.2M qualifying offer to the just turned 32-year-old Dominican, it’s likely that Teo will test free agency after betting on himself with a one-year, $23.5M deal in Los Angeles.

That bet has paid off. As Steve Henson of the Los Angeles Times wrote recently, “Here we are, deep into October, and Hernández and the Dodgers are still playing after [Hernández] established career highs in home runs (33), total bases (295) and wins above replacement (4.3). He was an All-Star and Home Run Derby champion. And he likely set a record for most sunflower seeds tossed on teammates after home runs.”

“Everybody was saying it was a bad deal because it was a one-year deal, but for me what is important is to get better and win. I’m glad that I’m here,” Hernández told Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.

And get better, he did. Anyone watching the World Series has noticed that he’s taking much better routes to fly balls and gunning down runners with his arm. As WFAN Yankees radio announced John Sterling exclaimed during Monday night’s Game Three Dodgers win after a bang bang play at home plate in the bottom of the 4th inning, “An absolute hose from Hernández in left, and Stanton [is] nailed down at the plate!”

Bring Teo back… for his glove?

Sure the Blue Jays could use that power in their lineup batting behind Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He drove in 99 runs with an .840 OPS and +134 wRC+ this regular season, the most since he had 116 RBI and an .870 OPS and +132 wRC+ with Toronto in 2021. He’s followed that up with 3 home runs and 10 RBI with a .743 OPS and +112 wRC+ this postseason, and is likely to win his first ever World Series ring.

But is his improved glove another reason to bring Teo back to the Blue Jays on a 3~4 year deal at a $20M AAV that was floated by MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently in comparing him to what outfielders like Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos received as free agents?

He’s clearly running better routes to catch fly balls, and while he posted a Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) of -3 this year, including +5 in RF and -8 in LF, he did have a .989 fielding percentage (33rd among qualified outfielders) with only 3 errors against 7 outfield assists, which ranked 15th in MLB and was tied with another Blue Jays free agent target in Anthony Santander, as well as Lane Thomas, Alex Verdugo and Blake Perkins.

Sure, his fielding run value in the OF was -11 per Statcast, with an outs above average (OAA) in left of -8, but his OAA in right field was better at -1.

As Teoscar’s agent Rafa Nieves recently posted, “He will win his 3rd Silver Slugger, and will probably get some MVP votes. On top of that, he made more money this year than he would have made on that 3-year deal and now he will go back out on the market after a career year.”

Also not to be overlooked is his positive attitude and impact on close friend Guerrero Jr. in the clubhouse and dugout. Just look at how he lit up and smiled when Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae asked him a question during the NLDS!

As he told Steve Henson of The Los Angeles Times, “I’m always laughing. I rarely get mad. You can go around and ask people, ‘Have you ever seen Teo mad?’ I don’t think they’re gonna say yes. Everybody knows the way I play on the field and act off the field. I’m the same person. I just like to bring joy and happiness to everybody so they can feel good and relax.”