Royals' rumored Mike Yastrzemski backup plan would be a shocking Dodgers pivot

After news broke on Wednesday night that the Royals would be missing out on a reunion with Mike Yastrzemski, the need to pivot and head back to the drawing board was imminent.

In the wake of Yaz's move to Atlanta, it appears the Royals have their sights set on another veteran name, who would also represent quite the pivot.

According to a Thursday morning report from Katie Woo and Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, the Royals appear to have interest in Dodgers corner outfielder Teoscar Hernández.

"The Dodgers continue to “kick the tires” on trading Teoscar Hernández, a league source said, though general manager Brandon Gomes said Monday that trading the right fielder still 'doesn't seem likely'," Woo and Ardaya wrote. "Still, the Dodgers might feel inclined to deal Hernández, whose defense declined last year, to free up roster space."

"The Kansas City Royals have coveted an offense-first outfielder, and have interest in Hernández, a league source said," they also wrote.

Royals appear to have interest in Dodgers veteran slugger Teoscar Hernández

The rumors of the Dodgers at least entertaining trade conversations around Hernández surfaced last week from Ken Rosenthal and Patrick Mooney. However, the thought was that "the Dodgers [viewed] a deal as unlikely".

Still, while Woo and Ardaya say a deal remains unlikely, the fact that the narrative has at least shifted towards kicking the tires on a trade makes it seem at least a tad more realistic that something could happen.

Now, Hernández isn't without his red flags and to be honest isn't the greatest fit in the world for the Royals considering where he's at in his career.

He's coming off his worst season at the plate, with a 102 wRC+, since his 41 game rookie cameo with the Houston Astros back in 2016. On top of that his power and plate discipline took noticeable hits across the board.

Then there's the defense where, apart from an above-average 63rd percentile arm, Hernández is not strong at all. In 2025, while he posted 1 DRS, he paired that with very underwhelming -9 marks in both OAA and FRV.

And all of this is wrapped up in a decently hefty price tag. Although his $14.7 million AAV in 2026 and $16.9 million AAV in 2027 isn't the biggest in the world, an average luxury tax hit of $19.9 million is pretty substantial for smaller market team like Kansas City - especially for a bat that's coming off the down year he did.

However, the Royals outfield search can only be described as dire and apart from Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger - whom they don't appear to be in on - there's not many names on the open market that are surefire home runs. Steven Kwan might be nice too, but trading with a division rival seems like a pipe dream at best.

This will surely force the Royals to get creative and at the end of the day, despite his flaws, a 102 wRC+ hitter who's essentially a surefire source of 25+ homers and 80+ RBI would certainly be welcome addition to this outfield that was the least effective in all of baseball in 2025 with a combined 73 wRC+.

And at the end of the day, the Royals don't necessarily need him to be a All-Starand Silver Slugger caliber bat he once. Although they wouldn't be opposed to this, at the end of the day they'll likely be satisfied finding a hitter that can complement the core of Bobby Witt Jr., Maikel Garcia, Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez and just lengthen this lineup.

Only time will tell how the Royals plan to address their corner outfield spots, but J.J. Picollo and Co. seem to have some irons in the fire.