| Teoscar Hernández | |
| Team: | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Number: | 37 |
| Position: | Outfielder |
| Birth Date: | 15 October 1992 |
| Birth Place: | Cotuí, Sánchez Ramírez, Dominican Republic |
| Bats: | Right |
| Throws: | Right |
| Debutleague: | MLB |
| Debutdate: | August 12 |
| Debutyear: | 2016 |
| Debutteam: | Houston Astros |
| Statleague: | MLB |
| Statyear: | August 21, 2024 |
| Stat1label: | Batting average |
| Stat1value: | .261 |
| Stat2label: | Hits |
| Stat2value: | 896 |
| Stat3label: | Home runs |
| Stat3value: | 185 |
| Stat4label: | Runs batted in |
| Stat4value: | 554 |
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| Awards: |
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Teoscar José Hernández (born October 15, 1992) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Houston Astros, Toronto Blue Jays, and Seattle Mariners. Hernández has won two Silver Slugger Awards and has been selected as an All-Star in 2021 and 2024.
Hernández signed with the Houston Astros as an international free agent in February 2011.[1] He made his professional debut that season for the Dominican Summer League Astros. Hernández played 2012 with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast Astros and the Class-A Lexington Legends of the South Atlantic League. He appeared in 59 total games, and recorded a .243 batting average, five home runs, 23 runs batted in (RBI), and 11 stolen bases.[2] He played the entire 2013 season with the Class-A Quad City River Bandits, and hit .271 with 13 home runs, 55 RBI, and 24 stolen bases.[3] During the offseason, Hernández appeared in 23 games for the Toros del Este of the Dominican Winter League.
Hernández started 2014 with the Lancaster JetHawks of the Advanced-A California League, and was promoted to the Corpus Christi Hooks of the Double-A Texas League during the season.[4] In 119 games, Hernández hit .292 with 21 home runs, 85 RBI, and 33 stolen bases.
Hernández played the entire 2015 season with Double-A Corpus Christi, batting .219 with 17 home runs, 48 RBI, and 33 steals in 119 games. After the season, he was selected to the roster for the Dominican Republic national baseball team at the 2015 WBSC Premier12[5] and he began the 2016 season with Corpus Christi, and was promoted to the Fresno Grizzlies of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in late June.
On August 12, 2016, the Astros promoted Hernández to the major leagues[6] and he made his debut as the starting center fielder against the Toronto Blue Jays that day, recording two hits in four at-bats. His first big league hit was a homerun off of Francisco 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.
Hernández was optioned to Triple-A Fresno to begin the 2017 season[9] but was recalled on April 25 to replace an injured Jake Marisnick.[10] However, he was injured in a collision with fellow teammate José Altuve in his first game and went on the disabled list.[11]
On July 31, 2017, the Astros traded Hernández and Nori Aoki to the Toronto Blue Jays for Francisco Liriano.[12] He was assigned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons[13] and didn't join the Blue Jays until September 1.[14] On September 10, Hernández hit two home runs against the Detroit 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.
Hernández started the 2018 season with Buffalo, and was recalled on April 13 when Josh 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 51 extra-base hits in his first 100 games. In 134 games for the Blue Jays, he hit .239 with 22 home runs. He struggled through the first two months of the season in 2019, hitting .189 with three home runs. He was optioned to AAA on May 16[17] for two weeks and returned to the major league team to play center field,[18] finishing the season with a .230 batting average and 26 home runs in 125 games.
Overall with the 2020 Blue Jays, Hernández batted .289 with 16 home runs and 34 RBIs in 50 games,[19] winning the American League (AL) Silver Slugger Award for right field in the shortened season, recording the fourth-best at-bats per home run average in the American League.[20] He also made his post-season debut, as he had one hit in seven at-bats for the Blue Jays in the Wild Card Series.
In 2021, Hernández earned his first career All-Star nod as he was selected to start the 2021 All-Star Game for the American League[21] and finished the 2021 season batting .296, a career high 32 home runs, and 116 RBIs. He also won the AL Silver Slugger for right field 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 and hit two home runs for the Blue Jays in the second game of the Wild Card Series.[24]
On November 16, 2022, the Blue Jays traded Hernández to the Seattle Mariners for Erik Swanson and Adam Macko.[25] He played in 160 games for Seattle in the 2023 season, hitting .258 with 26 homers and 93 RBI.[8]
On January 12, 2024, Hernández signed a one-year, $23.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.[26] He won the 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.[27] He was selected to the 2024 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, his second such selection.[28] He also participated in and won the 2024 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, becoming the first Dodger player to win the contest.[29]
Hernández is married and has three children.[30]