Red Sox Nation needs to get over Teoscar Hernández's latest burn

Teoscar Hernández winning the Home Run Derby was a decisive victory for the Dodgers, who hadn't had a Derby champion in the contest's 38 prior years of life. There could be an argument made that it was also a victory for the NL, who at least got to say that one of their guys won it after losing the All-Star Game the next day.

However, an AL team still decided to make it about themselves and dredge up an old storyline that one would think had been put to bed long ago, especially now that we're almost 100 games into the season.

Red Sox fans are clearly not over Hernández spurning their team in free agency in favor of the Dodgers, despite the fact that he's made his thought process in choosing LA very clear. Boston didn't want to be aggressive with free agents in the offseason, and they seemed content to be a pretty mediocre team in 2024, so Hernández went somewhere that clearly wanted to win.

Still, a Boston reporter from Baseball Isn't Boring thought it would be relevant to ask Hernández about the decision again during All-Star Week. Although it's hard to see what the goal was — make Red Sox fans unnecessarily mad that they lost the Home Run Derby champion? — it is another nice reminder that the Dodgers are lucky to have him.

Red Sox reporters can't stop asking Teoscar Hernández why he chose the Dodgers instead

Hernández confirmed that the offer the Red Sox put in front of him was two years and $28 million. The counter question — "If they had gone three, would you have done it?" — garnered a response that will definitely hurt Red Sox fans and make Dodgers fans cackle, "[The Red Sox are] one of my favorite teams, [...] but I couldn't wait any longer [on a three-year offer]." He also said, "The way they approach free agency... teams that want to win, they spend. They go after good players. [...] I just wanted to go to a team looking to spend and to go after good players to make their team better."

He also acknowledged that the Red Sox have been a surprisingly good team this year, and they have, but Boston's limp approach to the offseason was laughable then and is clearly still laughable now, despite their success.

Equivocating on players is clearly not a winning strategy when you're trying to lure them in free agency, and the Dodgers capitalized on the Red Sox's failings not just with Hernández, but once again with James Paxton.

Still, this is a conversation we need to put to bed. Hernández chose the Dodgers. Try again in the offseason, Boston.