Report: Blue Jays actively pursuing Teoscar Hernández reunion

According to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez, the Dodgers and Hernández’s camp have been negotiating for weeks but haven’t been able to bridge the gap in contract demands.

One source told McKain that the major holdups are issues surrounding the deal’s average annual value and signing bonus. Additionally, he reports there’s a belief that Hernández isn’t willing to include any contract deferrals, as he did in the one-year, $23.5-million contract signed last off-season.

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins — who typically avoids highlighting individual free agents — openly expressed the franchise’s interest in exploring a reunion with the two-time All-Star earlier this week at the Winter Meetings in Dallas, Texas.

With Los Angeles issuing Hernández a qualifying offer, Toronto — or any other team he signed with — would be required to surrender a 2025 second-round pick and $500,000 from its international bonus pool as a team that doesn’t receive revenue sharing and didn’t exceed the luxury tax last season.

Returning to the Dodgers remains the most likely outcome for the 32-year-old outfielder. However, it’s always possible another club could snatch him away by outbidding his former employer, like offering an extra year.

Hernández arrived to the Blue Jays in a midseason trade in 2017 and spent six seasons north of the border, logging 609 career games with the franchise. He was traded to the Seattle Mariners after the ’22 campaign, sending right-hander Erik Swanson and left-hander Adam Macko the other way.

The right-handed-hitting slugger blasted a career-high 33 home runs last season, posting 99 RBIs and a .272/.339/.501 slash line while accounting for a 134 wRC+ in 154 games, worth 3.5 fWAR.

It’s believed Hernández is currently training in Flordia, as first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — who spends his off-season workouts at a private gym in the Sunshine State — recently posted a picture of himself via Instagram alongside the free-agent outfielder and Atlanta’s Reynaldo López.

If Hernández returns to the Dodgers, the next pivot point for the Blue Jays could be fellow outfielder Anthony Santander, who enjoyed a career year with the Baltimore Orioles in 2024, hitting 44 home runs and 102 RBIs while slashing .235/.308/.506 in 155 contests.