December 9th, 2024 at 8:45 am 
by Ron Cervenka It was pretty much a foregone conclusion by most baseball fans but an attention-getter nonetheless:
This from MLB Trade Rumors:
“MLB contract records were shattered Sunday evening, as the Mets reached an agreement on a stunning 15-year, $765MM deal with free agent superstar Juan Soto, according to a report from The New York Post’s Jon Heyman. Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the deal contains no deferred money and includes escalators that can push the contract beyond $800MM. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the deal includes a whopping $75MM signing bonus, while Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Soto’s deal contains an opt-out after his age-30 2029 season. Jorge Castillo of ESPN notes that the Mets will have the opportunity to void that opt-out by adding an additional $4MM per year to the final ten years of his deal, which would allow the deal to max out at $805MM over 15 years.”
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So, what does Soto going to the Mets mean for extremely popular (now) free agent outfielder Teoscar Hernández, who the Dodgers have held off re-signing in the event that they needed a spot on their 40-man roster had they won the Juan Soto sweepstakes? According to ESPN’s Alden González, perhaps nothing:
As González notes in his December 8 tweet, the Dodgers signed 31-year-old outfielder Michael Conforto to a lofty one-year / $17 million contract on Sunday, thereby making Teo expendable. Hopefully, this is not the case.
Pull the trigger, Andrew.
Play Ball!
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Posted in 
This is all part of moving Betts to 2b.
Conforto will play RF
With Pages. Edman in CF
Teo in LF. Rojas at SS.
When Edman plays SS
CT3, Conforto, Pages, Teo
In the OF
With the signings of Conforto and Treinen the Dodgers now need to turn their attention to resigning Teo. The price probably just went way up with the Soto contract. I don’t think the money is the big issue with resigning him. I think it is more the length of the deal. Dodgers don’t want to go over 2 or 3 years and I believe he and his agent are seeking 3 to 5 years.
What are the alternatives if we whiff on Teo????
Free Agents:
Santander
Bader
Grichuk
Profar
Verdugo
Possible Trades:
Bellinger
Suzuki
Roberts Jr.
Aloha and thank you for your continued solid research and thought provoking ideas.
I kind of feel there is a vaccume of sorts concerning the Dodgers and how LONG the
one outfielder/dh we get plays. Teo in 24, In ’23 we had JD Maryinez, 22 Bellinger is
gone then in ’21 AJ Pollac is gone. That doesn’t spell out vacuume. There is something
though about the last player we need.
They were either in their last year or on a one year contract, like Teo.
Teo might be off limits for the Dodgers as to what he wants after Sotos signing.
I am baffled. Period. Also- Why Conforto?
Conforto is a perfect platoon partner for Pages in RF. Resigning Teo should be AF’s top priority. I am hopeful that AF can get a deal done with Teo that makes both parties happy. I would go 2 years guaranteed at $52M with a team or mutual option for a 3rd year at $26M with a $2M buyout. If some team offers him 4 or 5 years, he is gone.