Teoscar Hernández puts ball in Dodgers' court regarding future in LA

In one of the Dodgers' best wins of the season, three of LA's batters went back-to-back-to-back in the top of the ninth against the Braves on Sunday night, breaking open what had stalled at a 2-2 tie game since the top of the seventh. Atlanta intentionally walked Shohei Ohtani ,and Mookie Betts immediately made them pay with an RBI double to give the Dodgers the lead. Freddie Freeman followed with a two-run single of his own, and then Teoscar Hernández, Tommy Edman, and Max Muncy turned on the power.

The blast represented Hernández's 29th homer of the season, and his first since he sat out for a few days (Sept. 7-10) taking care of a foot injury. He just needs three more to match a career-high 32 he hit in 2021, the year he got his first All-Star nod, second Silver Slugger, and placed 19th in MVP voting.

Hernández has been the secret ingredient to the Dodgers' success this season. Other than the few games he missed because of his foot, he's been a consistent presence in the Dodgers' lineup, and a highlight to look forward to even in some of the worst-looking lineups in a very long time. He's due to leave LA at the end of the season, but he made it clear on Apple TV's Friday Night Baseball that he wants to stay exactly where he is.

Mic'ed up in left field during the bottom of the second, Hernández said, "I want to be a part of this team for three, four, five years, but it's not in my hands. It has to do with the Dodgers. It's in their hands."

Dodgers should already be drafting up a contract extension for Teoscar Hernández after stellar first season in LA

Calls for a Hernández extension probably really kicked off when the Dodgers lost Mookie Betts to the IL with a broken hand, and Hernández moved up in the lineup and truly stepped up for the team to compensate. July and August were two of his best months; he batted .301 in the former and .275 in the latter. Even before that, though, his season was rife with highlights includinga massive weekend against the Yankees in June, during which he batted .500 with a 1.988 OPS across three games. Let's not forget that he also became the first Dodger to win the Home Run Derby this year.

The Dodgers are going to be paying Hernández for years to come even after his one-year deal is up ($8.5 million of his $23.5 million contract will pay out from 2030 to 2039), so why not add a few more million to ensure he stays in LA for the rest of his career?

He's comfortable in LA, he's having one of his best seasons in LA, and his teammates love him. What more is there to talk about? At this point, the Dodgers shouldn't let him get to free agency at all. Re-sign the man now.