After making his MLB debut at 23 years old with the Houston Astros in 2016, outfielder Teoscar Hernandez was blocked by other talented players in the organization.
This situation extended well into 2017, and the Astros traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays to give his career an opportunity.
It was beneficial for all parties.
Hernandez blossomed with the Jays while getting regular playing time, and excelled in the second half of 2017 and until the very end of 2022.
Now, as he heads to his last season of salary arbitration, his time with the Jays has come to an end.
Toronto traded him to the Seattle Mariners for bullpen help.
Hernandez, after learning the news, wrote a classy and heartfelt post on Instagram to show appreciation to every person that helped him become the player he is today.
“Teóscar Hernández posted this on his Instagram account thanking the Blue Jays, his teammates and their fans for the support they always gave him,” MLB insider Hector Gomez tweeted, with a screenshot of the post.
Teóscar Hernández posted this on his Instagram account thanking the Blue Jays, his teammates and their fans for the support they always gave him. pic.twitter.com/QxxwAadWvz
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) November 16, 2022
He Feels At Home In Toronto
He thanked the Blue Jays “for giving me the opportunity to develop as a player,” and said Toronto feels like home to him, among other things.
Evidently, he was attached to the city, to his teammates (many of which he considers his friends) and to fans, too.
He left some quality numbers during his time with the Blue Jays.
He hit 129 of his 133 career homers with them, and batted .263/.320/.503 with a rock-solid .823 OPS in his seasons in Toronto.
It’s hard to think of more productive and consistent outfielders in the American League.
The good thing is that he is entering a similarly competitive situation in Seattle, where he should contend with the Mariners.
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