Dodgers fans certainly weren’t expecting to hear that Teoscar Hernández’s name had come up in trade talks last week, but it wasn’t necessarily anything to immediately sound the alarm about. Ken Rosenthal noted alongside the rumor drop that nothing was imminent, and the Dodgers didn’t expect to move him even if they’d entertained conversations on him.

However, Bob Nightengale used slightly more dire language the night that Winter Meetings kicked off in Orlando, writing in no uncertain terms that the Dodgers are shopping Hernández.

They’re looking for a corner outfielder to replace Michael Conforto, are expected to favor a trade over the free agent market, and a number of candidates on the trade market have already been named. Among them, the Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan and Lars Nootbaar, usual suspect Steven Kwan, and two-time All-Star Byron Buxton.

All of them, except perhaps Nootbaar, would require an exceptional return that Hernández could factor into, but only if it was absolutely necessary.

Actively shopping him is a different story, and could speak to some regrets for Andrew Friedman and his full-send 2024-2025 offseason, which locked up multiple 30-something players to long-term deals, some that haven’t quite paid off the way the Dodgers expected.

Bob Nightengale intensifies Teoscar Hernández rumors by writing Dodgers are shopping him

Hernández and Tommy Edman got the most notable long-term deals for position players last year and both of their numbers saw unsavory dips in 2025, but there are only two more guaranteed years on Hernández’s contract versus four on Edman’s. Hernández is also older, plays far worse defense, and didn’t mash as he was expect to after his career-best 2024 with the Dodgers.

Still, he would be an attractive trade candidate to any of the Cardinals, Twins, or Guardians, who would be losing their own star outfielder in a hypothetical Donovan, Nootbaar, Kwan, or Buxton trade. Hernández can still reliably hit 25+ homers in a season, and his postseason heroics are well-documented.

The Dodgers have unlimited resources, but getting over $31 million off the books could enable them to tack an extra year onto any potential Tucker or Bellinger offer.

Friedman has alluded to a slower and quieter offseason this year, and the Dodgers may end up doing very little at Winter Meetings (which they do have a history of), but a cloud will certainly hang over Hernández’s head until spring training if he doesn’t end up moving this week.