The Los Angeles Dodgers have already been active in MLB free agency, addressing needs in the batting order and pitching staff for 2025. Los Angeles has also demonstrated the ability to quickly pivot to new options when it realizes a deal can’t be reached with one of its top targets and it might happen soon.
Even after signing outfielder Michael Confort, Los Angeles maintained its interest in re-signing Hernandez. The 2024 All-Star selection made his desire to stay in a Dodgers’ uniform clear, but the bidding war for his services is ramping up with several contenders in the mix.
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- Los Angeles Dodgers payroll 2025 (FanGraphs): $337 million, first in MLB
Hernandez still prefers to re-sign with Los Angeles and he’s proven to be a perfect fit in the clubhouse. However, the two sides have had more than a month to resolve differences in their contract offers and a gap still remains. With a deal not imminent, a new option has emerged for Los Angeles.
According to MLB insider Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, the Dodgers are one of the teams to watch for free-agent outfielder Anthony Santander. An All-Star selection and Silver Slugger Award recipient this past season, Santander’s slow-developing market has potentially opened the door for Los Angeles.
- Anthony Santander stats (ESPN): .235/.308/.506, .814 OPS, 44 home runs, 102 RBI, 25 doubles
There will be significant competition for Santander, just as there is for Hernandez. Just as with the former Dodgers star, Santander is generating interest from the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, and San Francisco Giants.
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Landing Santander would add a switch-hitter with outstanding power to the Dodgers lineup. He’s coming off career-highs in home runs (44), RBI (102), and slugging (.506) with a .800-plus OPS for the second time in his career. From 2020-’24 with the Orioles, he slashed .245/.312/.476 with an .788 OPS.
Hernandez, age 32, finished last season in the 90th percentile for Baseball Savant‘s Batting Run Value but he was only in the 2nd percentile for Fielding Run Value and Range (-9 Outs Above Average) in the corner outfield. Santander ended this past season with a 79th percentile Batting Run Value but he finished significantly higher than Hernandez in Fielding Run Value (25th percentile) and Range (-2 OAA).
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Only 30 years old, he could prove to be an equally effective addition for the Dodgers. The risk comes in that Los Angeles knows Hernandez already proved to be a perfect fit in the clubhouse, whereas Santander would be another new personality for a team coming off a World Series title.