Teoscar Hernandez gets honest about Shohei Ohtani connection and Kike Hernandez's future

Teoscar Hernandez extended his stay with the Los Angeles Dodgers this offseason by signing a three-year, $66 million contract. The All-Star outfielder will get to call the Dodger Stadium his home till the 2027 season and hopefully beyond.

Teoscar appeared on the Dodgers Territory co-hosted by Alana Rizzo and Clint Pasilas. He was asked about his camaraderie with Shohei Ohtani, something that brewed for the entirety of the 2024 season. Teo opened up about the language barrier and how the generational player has made it easier for everyone around him.

"I think his Spanish was better than my Japanese throughout the year. We would try to teach each other some words in Japanese and some in Spanish, but I think he remembered everything that I taught him in Spanish, but I didn’t remember anything that he taught me in Japanese.

"It’s great to have that relationship with Shohei. He’s a quiet guy, but at the same time, he’s funny. He tries hard just to get engaged with his teammates and make everybody feel good around him. Shohei is (an) amazing teammate, amazing person, and he cares about everybody in that clubhouse and outside the clubhouse. And it’s good to be seen and play alongside him for many years," Teoscar said. [20:21]

Teoscar Hernandez was also quizzed about fellow World Series winner Kike Hernandez and his future with the club. Kike is still a free agent with the Dodgers the closest to re-signing him for an extension.

"I don't know, but hopefully, I'm praying to God that we can bring Kike back. I miss Kike and I want him to be a Dodger," Teoscar wished. [24:50]

Teoscar Hernandez feels the Dodgers are not breaking baseball

There have been plenty of questions about how the Dodgers have gone about their business, especially with their recent acquisitions. After successfully winning the title last year, they have now added plenty of fire power by getting Blake Snell as a free agent and then the blockbuster signing of Roki Sasaki for almost nothing. Teoscar fired back at all the criticism and instead backed the management.

"I think it's great. They're doing everything in their power to put together a team to win. If you go and you ask every fan from different teams what they want, they just say, 'Okay, we want to win, we want to celebrate, we want to have a World Series title,' and the Dodgers are doing that.

"They are showing everybody that they’re doing everything in their power to put together a team so they can win, so their fans can be happy, so the city can be happy, and the players can be happy... I think it's great for baseball," Teoscar stated. [23:30]

The Dodgers will head into the 2025 season with the highest payroll and comfortably ahead of the next best Philadelphia Phillies. Their mantra has been to attract the biggest stars after sustained success over the last decade, which seems to be working.