The addition of Teoscar Hernandez would add some more pop to this O’s lineup, but is that the direction they want to go in?

Coming off a World Series win and a career-high in home runs, Teoscar Hernandez has numerous ball clubs vying for his services this offseason. Two of them are reportedly in the American League East, including one of the youngest teams in the majors — the Baltimore Orioles. Per Jon Morosi of MLB Network, Hernandez is drawing interest from Baltimore and the Boston Red Sox. Both have an obvious need for some right-handed pop in the lineup.

In fact, five of Baltimore’s top seven home run hitters last season were left-handed. That is even taking into account switch hitter Anthony Santander, who is a free agent as of right now.

But, doesn’t the pursuit of Hernandez contradict what the higher-ups within the Orioles organization said following its swift elimination in the Wild Card round? Well, it in fact does.

What does Hernandez do best? Baseball fans know that from a July Monday in Texas. The right-handed slugger has hit 25 or more home runs in four consecutive campaigns. His strikeout rate, though, has been higher than the current league average (22.4 percent) in every season he has been in the league, per Baseball Reference.

Baltimore’s offense wasn’t very versatile. When the home run ball vanishes, like it did against the Kansas City Royals, what’s next? Well, not a whole lot. The AL East outfit, who finished second in the league in homers behind the New York Yankees, found itself outside the top ten in that department in the final two months of the regular season. The result: a 26-27 record over that span.

“It was a lot more of a challenge to score runs, and we relied on the homer,” said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde regarding the second half, h/t the Baltimore Banner.“When you’re facing really good pitching, that’s tough to do.”

If the Orioles seek to change some of its identity, like Elias said, Hernandez may not be the player to target
Baltimore’s general manager Mike Elias spoke about altering the club’s offensive mindset.

“It’s a tricky thing, hitting,” explained general manager Elias, “(We’re) going to examine everything about our offensive approach, teachings, the mix of personnel.”

“I don’t believe it’s necessarily all chance,” he said in terms of the boom or bust strategy. “I do think there are things that our organization and ultimately our players will be able to do to improve our odds on that front. That’s not a good experience going through that for months where we’re struggling to get runners in from second base. That wasn’t the case last year. We were great at it with a lot of the same guys. A lot of confidence that that can correct next year, but it’s going to involve some work by us.”

I’d still make a run at the World Series champion if I’m the O’s. Santander is likely out the door. That’s 44 home runs and 102 RBI you need to replace. Hernandez, with the momentum of a championship, could fill that role. In addition, to keep up with the Yankees in the AL East, you need to be able to rack up long balls.

But, would the quest for a more contact guy be better for a group that saw its offense disappear late in the season? There is an argument there to be made. A month ago that looked to be where the heads of the front office were at. Now, with the recent report, the Orioles seem to be exploring all of its potential options.