Finally healthy, Teoscar Hernandez aims for a Gold Glove

PHOENIX — In the weeks before reporting to Camelback Ranch, Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández spent most of his days drenched in sweat at a training facility in Tampa, performing a series of plyometric exercises designed to reconfigure his body.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., his former teammate and 2025 World Series rival of the Toronto Blue Jays, performed the same drills at the same facility.

The public unveiling of Guerrero’s sculpted frame took place last week in an Instagram post featuring before-and-after photos of the All-Star first baseman. Hernández’s chance to show off his new body came Tuesday when the Dodgers hosted their first full team workout of the spring.

Hernández said he lost 12 pounds over the winter, and he credited Guerrero with helping him get back into shape.

“It is clear that he is preparing to help his team return to the World Series and win,” Hernández said in Spanish. “I do the same.”

Hernández and Guerrero have trained together in each of the past four seasons.

“We motivate each other,” Hernández said. “In the end, I think every player needs someone with whom he feels comfortable and can have good moments during training.”

They have company. Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Adolis García of the Philadelphia Phillies and Randy Arozarena of the Seattle Mariners use the same facility.

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For Hernández, it wasn’t about keeping up with the likes of Guerrero and Caminero.

It was about not wanting to go through another injury-plagued season. The point was that he wanted to extend his career beyond the two years remaining on his contract. This was about wanting to win a Golden Glove.

You read that right: a golden glove.

Hernández, 33, had a bad year last season.

He hit 25 home runs and drove in 89 runs in 134 games, but he hit only .247. He was a right-field defensive player, and that’s a nice way to put it.

The perpetrator was easy to identify: a groin injury, suffered in early May.

Hernández only missed 12 games, but he said his lower body continued to hinder him for the remainder of the regular season and throughout the postseason.

“I never recovered 100 percent,” he said, adding that he believed his condition affected him in both attack and defense.

After the World Series, Hernández said he did nothing for two months.

“I knew my body needed rest,” he said.

His weight loss began during this two-month period of inactivity. He said he didn’t change what he ate, but learned to control his portions. He didn’t want a repeat of last season.

“I don’t want to miss any games,” he said in English. “I don’t like missing games. I like being on the field.”

“My whole career I was 204, 205 [pounds]in that range. Last year it was a bit over, but now I’m back to normal.”

Hernández is under contract with the Dodgers through the 2027 season. He would like to extend his career for another year.

He is a two-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion. He is a three-time winner of the Silver Slugger Award. He is also a former Home Run Derby champion. But before he retires, Hernández said he would like to win a Gold Glove.

“I think that’s great,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.

Friedman was especially encouraged by the way Hernández responded to a nightmarish August game in Colorado, in which he butchered two crucial plays in a loss.

“We had a number of conversations and I think the level of effort has really increased in a meaningful way,” Friedman said. “And so did the performance. From that point on, he was a very good outfielder. And I think there’s more to it. The fact that he’s just as committed to it, and that it’s a goal of his, I think increases the chances that he’ll be a real asset.”

Hernández returns to left field this year to clear a spot for newcomer Kyle Tucker in right. Hernández said he didn’t mind.

“I’m certainly ready for them to need me,” he said. “I just want to be there and be on the field. Just play every day.”

Hernández also wants to stay with the team. He said he was aware of reports that his name came up in trade talks last winter.

“I’ve been traded twice in my career,” he said. “Obviously I’ve never played for a team that wins. It’s good to win and be part of this. Obviously I don’t want to go, but if they think they can be a better team, they will. As much as I want to be here, for them.” [there’s] the business side of it and whether they feel like things can be improved [by] If they trade me, they’re going to do it.”

Hernández is determined to provide the Dodgers with an alternate reality, a world where they are a better team for not trading him. The Dodgers can now imagine such a future. All they have to do is look at him.