The Los Angeles Dodgers are entering the offseason with plenty of questions after the Milwaukee Brewers swept them out of the National League Championship Series, ending any chance of a third consecutive World Series title.
While much of the roster is expected to return, the front office faces pressure to refresh a lineup that has grown older without fully keeping pace.
Teoscar Hernández has emerged as the most logical high-profile player the club could move.
The Athletic’s Katie Woo and Fabian Ardaya identified Hernández as the clearest big-name trade candidate in a Saturday report.
“After rostering the oldest position-playing group in the majors for the second straight year, the Dodgers will look to get younger,” they wrote. “The difficulty is that most of their age-30-or-above core is still under contract for 2027, if not longer. The Dodgers floated Hernández on the trade market last winter but held on. Instead, they moved him to left field to make room for Kyle Tucker.
“They might find themselves in a similar position this offseason. Los Angeles will look to create a spot on the active roster for top prospect Josue De Paula, who still needs plenty of work in the outfield but impressed Dodgers brass with his offense to the point where the 21-year-old made both the NLDS and NLCS rosters.”
Hernández is entering the final guaranteed year of the three-year, $66 million extension he signed before the 2025 season. The deal also includes a $15 million club option for 2028.
That structure limits the long-term commitment another team would inherit, which could make him easier to move than several of his veteran teammates.
At the same time, his production has declined. He hit only 16 home runs in 2026, his lowest total in a full major-league season, and his defensive value in the outfield has diminished.
Those factors narrowed his market last winter and could do so again.
“Offloading Hernández might be the easiest way to do that,” The Athletic noted. “Hernández is in the final year of a three-year, $66 million extension he signed ahead of the 2025 season.
“The deal includes a club option worth $15 million in 2028. He did not have much of a market last winter, and his 16 homers this year represent his lowest total in a full season of his career. Still, the Dodgers have a loaded farm system that could perhaps help sweeten a potential trade.”
A deal would most likely require a contending club that needs left-field or designated-hitter production and has pitching depth to offer in return.
The Dodgers are projected to lose more arms than position players this winter, so any return package centered on pitching would address an immediate organizational need while opening everyday playing time for De Paula.
Whether another team is willing to part with the right pieces remains the open question, but the combination of a short remaining commitment and a deep Dodgers farm system gives Los Angeles a realistic path if it decides the time has come to move on from Hernández.
