The Mets have offered Teoscar Hernandez a two-year contract

1.51pm: The Mets’ offer to Hernandez “would have had a similar average annual value to the contract he made with the Dodgers but without deferrals,” The Athletic’s Will Sammon writes. Such short-term deals for outfield or DH help remain a possibility for the Mets, albeit for less than it would have taken to sign Hernandez. For example, Sammon notes that the Mets have interest in re-signing him Jesse Winker in such a role.

1.25pm: The Mets’ interest in the free agent outfield market was apparently limited to just Juan Sotofor unlike other Soto suitors, New York was not known to have any public interest in such things Teoscar Hernandez OR Antonio Santander as backup plans if Soto signed elsewhere. However, now with Soto already in the fold, the Mets made a late offer on Hernandez, as Newsday’s Tim Healey reports that the Amazins offered the slugger a two-year contract earlier this week. The dollar amount is unknown, but Hernandez still rejected the deal and joined the Dodgers on a three-year, $66 million pact.

Given that the Mets have the financial resources to pursue any available player, their interest in Hernandez could have been a case of due diligence. After all, there’s no harm in vetting a talented hitter to gauge his interest in joining the Mets, and president of baseball operations David Stearns may have seen an opening in a short-term deal as Hernandez lingered on the market.

That’s not to say that signing Hernandez would have exactly been a steal, as it would have cost the Mets even more draft and international bonus capital. Because New York exceeded the luxury tax in 2024, signing Soto cost the Mets $1 million in international bonus pool money, plus the second- and fifth-highest picks in the 2025 draft. Like Soto, Hernandez also he rejected a qualifying offer, and so signing him would have required the Mets to give up another $1 million from their international bonus pool, as well as their highest third- and fourth-place draft selections.

Adding Hernandez would have further crowded the outfield picture. The projected starting outfield consists of Soto in right field, Brandon Nimmo left, Jose Siri AND Tyrone Taylor platoon in the center, Starling Mars probably relegated to DH duty, e.g Jeff McNeil, Jared YoungAND Luisangelo Acuna capable of stomping through grass in a pinch. If New York had signed Hernandez, the most likely scenario would likely have seen Nimmo return to center field, unless the Mets could open up the DH spot by trading Marte. Reports from a few weeks ago suggested the Mets were willing to eat some of the $19.5 million owed to Marte in the event of a trade, and while no deal was thought to be in sight, the Mets’ openness to covering salary could suggest that Mars is the odd man out.

If Hernandez’s signing was viewed as a one-off circumstance, the Mets’ outfield depth likely means they are less likely to seek Santander or another outfield bat unless Marte is dealt. In terms of additions to the lineup overall, New York remains connected Pietro Alonso AND Alex Bregmann as the club seeks to enhance at least one internal space in the corner.