rumors

ORLANDO, Fla. — It’s been an offseason of few acquisitions thus far for the Dodgers.

So much so that, on the first day of MLB’s annual winter meetings at the Signia by Hilton Orlando on Monday, the most intriguing rumor surrounding the team had to do with a potential subtraction from their big-league roster.

According to multiple reports, Teoscar Hernández has come up in the Dodgers’ trade talks with other teams this winter. USA Today went as far as saying the club was “shopping” the two-time All-Star, who is entering the second season of the three-year, $66-million deal he signed last offseason.

However, both manager Dave Roberts and general manager Brandon Gomes downplayed that notion while addressing reporters on Monday.

Dodgers right fielder Teoscar Hernández hits a sacrifice fly to score Dodgers’ Will Smith during the Game 7 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Nov. 1.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

“Teo certainly fits [our roster still],” Roberts said. “He’s helped us win two championships. He’s one of my favorites.”

“That doesn’t feel likely,” Gomes added of the possibility of trading Hernández. “Obviously, you can never say never on those types of things. I know that’s come up [in reports]. But that’s not something we anticipate at all.”

The idea of the Dodgers trading Hernández has felt like a long shot from the start. Though the 33-year-old slugger suffered an inconsistent and injury-plagued regular season in 2025 — both at the plate, where he had 25 home runs but hit only .247, and especially defensively, where he had several notable lapses after moving to right field — the 10-year veteran has made crucial contributions in each of the Dodgers’ two World Series runs the last couple years, and has served in a mentor role to young players in the clubhouse; none more so than Andy Pages.

Granted, moving Hernández could help the Dodgers get younger, which has been a goal for the front office this offseason as they try to navigate their aging and expensive roster. And his salary could be repurposed if the team were to make a splashier free-agent signing.

But for now, the Dodgers continue to express belief in their current core, with Roberts noting Monday that “we’re very confident with where the roster is right now” and that “there’s really no big splash we feel needs to be made.”

Plus, moving Hernández would also only further exacerbate the team’s pre-existing need for outfield help, as the club continues to evaluate both the free agent market (where players such as Cody Bellinger or Harrison Bader figure to be better, and more affordable, fits than a likely $400-million signing of top free-agent option Kyle Tucker) and trade possibilities (such as Brendan Donovan or Lars Nootbaar of the St. Louis Cardinals, Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu of the Boston Red Sox or — in a less likely scenario — Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians).

Roberts did leave the door open to potentially moving Hernández back to left field, where he spent the majority of 2024 for the Dodgers before shifting over to his more natural right field position last year.

Still, in Roberts’ eyes, Hernández’s defense was “at least average” in right after an August series in Colorado when he made a couple particularly glaring mistakes on fly balls. His career-long defensive metrics have also been stronger in right field than left.

“I do think that with the versatility [of our roster] and how we potentially shape this roster, there’s some options,” Roberts said. “But right now, he’s our right fielder.”

Tennis great Serena Williams took to X on Tuesday to insist that she is not planning a return to the court, hours after news broke that she has re-entered the sport’s drug-testing pool.

“Omg yall I’m NOT coming back,” the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion wrote. “This wildfire is crazy-”

Williams played her last match on Sept. 2, 2002, a loss to Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the U.S. Open. The next day, Williams registered as retired with the International Tennis Integrity Agency, which oversees anti-doping and anti-corruption efforts in the sport, meaning she was no longer subject to regular drug testing.

An ITIA spokesperson confirmed to The Times on Tuesday that Williams is back in the agency’s drug-testing pool. Retired players “may not return to sanctioned events unless they have made themselves available for out-of-competition testing for at least six months prior to the event in question,” according to the ITIA website.

That is why talk of a potential Williams comeback was spreading like “wildfire” before the 44-year-old attempted to extinguish the flames on X. The mother of two did not explain why she is back in the testing pool. A representative for Williams did not immediately reply to a request for comment from The Times.

Williams famously avoided the word “retirement” when she announced her plan to step away from tennis in an August 2022 column in Vogue.

“Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution,” she said. “I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”

Older sister Venus Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, returned to the court earlier this year after a lengthy hiatus. During her run to the U.S. Open women’s doubles quarterfinals with partner Leylah Fernandez, Venus Williams mentioned that her sister was “coaching from afar.”