Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star outfielder Teoscar Hernández has had a bit of a down year at the plate, but his struggles on defense have been too frequent to ignore.
In terms of Outs Above Average, Hernández has a grade of minus-10, putting him in just the first percentile among active fielders. He recently spoke about his mindset moving forward and how he deals with the criticism.
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“People are always going to say something when something bad happens,” Hernández said. “I’ve got to deal with it, try to get better, try to make the plays. That’s the only thing I can do — try, try, keep trying, try harder if I have to. Keep moving forward.”
The undeniable work ethic is one thing, but in a moment of the season where the Dodgers have much less depth than they are comfortable with, a few changes may have to be put in place for the betterment of the team.
One of those moves could better utilize Hernandez’s bat, but depends on when NLCS MVP Tommy Edman returns from his IL stint. Michael Conforto, who is currently in left field, has had trouble finding a rhythm this season, and manager Dave Roberts recently discussed the idea of putting Hernández in left to replace him.
“I think it’s certainly a great thought. It’s something that is not a zero percent chance of happening,” Roberts said. “I haven’t approached Teo yet about it, but it’s certainly something I’ve thought about.”
Another idea, and another that requires waiting for a player to get healthy, would be putting infielder Hyeseong Kim in left field. With just 44 left field appearances during Kim’s time in Korea Baseball Organization, he recently logged some innings there during his rehab assignment in Triple-A.
“Obviously we know Hyeseong can play second base,” Roberts said. “We know he can play shortstop. So just seeing him out in left field, I think that it just potentially gives us a little bit more options.”
Regardless of where Hernández lands as the final stretch of the season takes shape, he needs to limit his defensive miscues, and improve upon his .189 batting average across his last 10 games.
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Photo Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
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