Mariners face tough decision with free-agent slugger Teoscar Hernandez

SEATTLE – One by one, Mariners general manager Justin Hollander went around the home clubhouse Sunday afternoon and thanked players for their contributions this year.

One of the last players he approached was Teoscar Hernandez. They hugged, and Hollander thanked the slugging right fielder for fighting through an early season slump to become a key cog in the middle of the Mariners lineup.

“You carried us for a six-week stretch this summer,” Hollander told him, adding, “We’ll be in touch this offseason.”

A respected player in the clubhouse, Hernandez took his time saying his farewells to teammates after the Mariners’ final game of the season Sunday.

Chances are, Hernandez’s goodbye to the Mariners won’t be temporary.

“This is the hard part for me, saying goodbye, knowing that I might not be there next year,” he said. “Who knows? But I have to treat it like this is the last time we’re going to play together.”

Hernandez will be a free agent after the World Series. On offense, he didn’t quite live up to expectations after the Mariners made him their biggest acquisition last winter, but he figures to still rank among the most attractive hitters on a thin free-agent market this offseason.

In 678 plate appearances with the Mariners, Hernandez slashed .258/.305/.435 with 26 homers and 93 RBIs. His .741 OPS was the lowest of any full season in his MLB career, and he finished third in MLB with 211 strikeouts. (Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber had 215 strikeouts and the Mariners’ Eugenio Suarez had 214.)

Hernandez’s home-road splits were notable, though: In 79 games at T-Mobile Park, he had a .643 OPS; in 81 road games, he had an .830 OPS.

“For me, I learned through my career that it’s not always going to be up,” said Hernandez, who turns 31 on Oct. 15. “There’s going to be some ups and downs. As a player, you try to minimize the downs and try to keep the good times (going).

“Unfortunately for me, in the beginning it was nothing close (to) what I wanted it to be. But like I say, it’s baseball. I trust myself, and I know at some point it was going to change, and thankfully it (did) after the All-Star break and I helped the team during that time.”

Mariners front-office executives, during their end-of-season news conference Tuesday, didn’t rule out the possibility of re-signing Hernandez.

But they did identify the lineup’s “contact riddle” as the No. 1 problem they intend to solve this offseason. And with a 31.1% strikeout rate this season and 29.7% career K rate, Hernandez would not seem to fit that mold.

The Mariners set a franchise record by striking out 1,603 times this year. Suarez, due $11 million, is under contract through the 2024 season.

The Mariners could extend to Hernandez a qualifying offer for 2024, which is expected to be worth about $20.5 million. If they do extend a qualifying offer and Hernandez signs with another club, the Mariners would be eligible to receive draft-pick compensation.

“We’ve already made our decision internally,” president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said Tuesday. “We’ll talk with (Hernandez and his reps) before we make that public information.”

Hernandez said he will enter free agency with an open mind.

“It’s something new. I don’t know what to expect,” he said. “But I’m going to try enjoy it. … Now that I’m a free agent, I’m trying to go somewhere where I feel comfortable and where my family feels comfortable. I’m the player, but this is not only about me. I have to think about my family, my kids.”

He didn’t entirely close the door on a return to Seattle.

“This is a special group that I love here. I love everybody here,” he said. “I love the fans, the city and everything. But I think right now, it’s not in my hands.”