“An absolute hose from Hernández in left, and Stanton [is] nailed down at the plate!”

Former Blue Jays outfielder Teoscar Hernández will be a free agent next month, and he’s certainly building a case for a big contract to see him through to the end of his career after helping the Dodgers to what looks like a second World Series championship this decade.

While the Dodgers could extend a $21.2M qualifying offer to the just turned 32-year-old Dominican, it’s likely that Teo will test free agency after betting on himself with a one-year, $23.5M deal in Los Angeles.

That bet has paid off. As Steve Henson of the Los Angeles Times wrote recently, “Here we are, deep into October, and Hernández and the Dodgers are still playing after [Hernández] established career highs in home runs (33), total bases (295) and wins above replacement (4.3). He was an All-Star and Home Run Derby champion. And he likely set a record for most sunflower seeds tossed on teammates after home runs.”

“Everybody was saying it was a bad deal because it was a one-year deal, but for me what is important is to get better and win. I’m glad that I’m here,” Hernández told Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.

And get better, he did. Anyone watching the World Series has noticed that he’s taking much better routes to fly balls and gunning down runners with his arm. As WFAN Yankees radio announced John Sterling exclaimed during Monday night’s Game Three Dodgers win after a bang bang play at home plate in the bottom of the 4th inning, “An absolute hose from Hernández in left, and Stanton [is] nailed down at the plate!”