"I'd lock him up now" - Sports analyst urges Dodgers to sign Teoscar Hernandez on a long-term deal amidst All-Star season

Among the big names that the Los Angeles Dodgers signed in the offseason was Teoscar Hernandez. The outfielder has exceeded expectations, picking up an All-Star selection and winning the Home Run Derby contest last week. The veteran is subsequently receiving praise from all corners and one analyst wants him locked up by the Dodgers with an extension already.

Hernandez, who is hitting .269 along with 21 home runs and 67 RBIs so far this season, signed a one-year, $23.5 million contract with the Dodgers in the offseason. While talking about Hernandez on KLAC radio station, MLB analyst Rodney Peete wants the Dodgers to extend the outfielder on a multi-year deal:

"I think more often than not, if you're honest with yourself and big moments, the guy that has come through more than anybody else for this team has been Teoscar Hernandez. And I'm telling you right now, that if I'm the Dodgers, I'm locking him up. I'm locking him up now," Peete said.

"He's a guy that wants to be here. You might get a discount, but I'm trying to figure out, he can get a long-term deal with him right now. I'm not talking 10 years. I'm talking like a five-year deal or the six-year deal, something like that," he added.

Teoscar Hernandez's contract details

MLB: Milwaukee Brewers at Los Angeles Dodgers (Image Source: IMAGN)

Teoscar Hernandez will turn free agent once the season concludes. However, with Peete suggesting an extension for him, the franchise may lock him up on another deal.

Interestingly, like Shohei Ohtani's $700 million deferred contract, $8.5 million of Teoscar Hernandez's contract is also deferred, meaning, the outfielder will earn $15 million this year, and the rest of the money will be paid in equal installments of $850,000 from 2030-2039.

"That's been a very good player. That's kind of gone under the radar and he wanted to come here and wanted to be a part of this. So I would find a way to lock him down," Rodney Peete said about Hernandez.

The Dodgers are already enjoying the dividends of Shohei Ohtani's deferred contract and with the likes of Mookie Betts, Will Smith and Yoshinobu Yamamoto all locked up for the foreseeable future, and more extensions might still be on the way before the season concludes.