Exciting Free Agent Shows Mutual Interest in Red Sox Amid Rumors

The MLB offseason has Boston fans envisioning a few free agent targets in Red Sox threads, and it looks like one potential addition might be in agreement as rumors link him to the club.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, free agent outfielder Teoscar Hernandez liked a post of himself Photoshopped into a Red Sox uniform. Per Alex Speier, Hernandez and the Red Sox have "been discussing potential contract parameters", but a formal offer has not yet been extended.

The Hernandez-to-Boston rumors have picked up over the past several days, as Boston turned their attention elsewhere after Yoshinobu Yamamoto inked a record-breaking contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Red Sox and Yamamoto had met during his free agency tour.

Social media sleuths have found that Hernandez appears to be following various Red Sox accounts on the platform as well.

Hernandez's numbers at Fenway Park are certainly cause for Red Sox fans to hold out hope that he might switch dugouts and stop terrorizing Boston pitching. In 44 games at Fenway, The right-handed hitter has socked 14 home runs, driven in 44 runs, and collected 48 base hits to the tune of a .287 average.

As things stand, the Red Sox have six outfielders on their roster: Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran, Tyler O'Neill, Ceddanne Rafaela, Rob Refsnyder, and Masataka Yoshida. At a quick glance, this outfield group could pass as Opening Day-ready, but as with much of the roster, question marks are littered everywhere.

Rafaela and Abreu each have less than 85 big league at-bats. O'Neill has missed 156 games over the last two seasons.

Duran had a breakout 2023 season, but missed almost all of the entire last two months of the season after undergoing turf toe surgery, which isn't great news for a player that relies so much on his dynamic speed. If you take out Duran's 2023 campaign, he is a career .219 hitter. The Red Sox cannot exactly count on him as a surefire bet for 2023.

Yoshida was last offseason's big free-agent splash and came stateside to Fenway with the expectation that he would lock down left field in the shadow of the Green Monster. As the season progressed, manager Alex Cora showed a clear preference to use him in the designated hitter role. This month's trade for O'Neill, another left-fielder, would indicate that the team is approaching this season anticipating Yoshida at DH.

Hernandez's 2,945 career at-bats would be an immediate injection of experience into the Boston outfield. Rafaela and Abreu have a combined 159 big league at-bats; Hernandez has 159 career home runs. There isn't enough talent or experience in the current Sox outfield to argue that there is no room for Hernandez.

Hopefully Hernandez can swap out the Photoshop jersey for the real thing soon.

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