Hernandez shares heartfelt goodbye to Blue Jays: ‘Thank you for making Toronto a home’

Following his departure from the Toronto Blue Jays early Wednesday morning, Teoscar Hernandez shared a heartfelt note with the team and the city via an Instagram post.

The All-Star slugger, who was sent west to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for reliever Erik Swanson and pitching prospect Adam Macko, had nothing but love for the club and city he has called home since 2017.

“Thank you to the Toronto organization for giving me the opportunity to develop as a player,” Hernandez said in his post. “For [the] great moments we spent together in the great city of Toronto, thank you for what I learned from you. Thank you for making Toronto a home for me.”

Herandez leaves Toronto not only as a fan favourite, but also as an accomplished ballplayer.

Acquired from the Houston Astros at the 2017 trade deadline, the outfielder blossomed into a heart-of-the-order dynamo for the Blue Jays, winning two silver sluggers in 2020 and 2021, and receiving MVP votes in both of those years as well.

This past season, Hernandez hit .267/.316/.491 with 25 home runs and 77 RBIs, good for a 129 wRC+ and 2.4 fWAR.

He concludes his Blue Jays tenure with a .263/.320/.503 triple slash line, accumulating 129 home runs and 369 RBIs over his five-and-a-half seasons with the club.