As negotiations with free-agent outfielder Teoscar Hernández remain at an impasse, the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are exploring a number of intriguing right-handed hitting alternatives.

The potential options, according to sources briefed on the team’s discussions, include infielder Ha-Seong Kim in free agency and Chicago Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki, Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. and others in trade.

How serious the Dodgers are about those pursuits — and how realistic some of them might be — remains to be seen.

Hernández, 32, is seeking a three-year deal between $66 million and $72 million, according to a person briefed on the negotiations. The contract length does not appear to be a point of contention between the parties. The issue is money.

In their inquiries on other players, the Dodgers might simply be weighing the acquisition costs against the price of retaining Hernández, who repeatedly has said he wants to return. The club also might be lining up contingencies as a matter of due diligence in the event Hernández departs for the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox or some other interested club.

Kim, 29, would be perhaps the most intriguing addition. With the Dodgers planning to return Mookie Betts to shortstop, the team’s needs in the outfield are greater than they are in the infield. Kim, however, is a gifted defender who would fill a spot in the middle infield once he recovered from labrum surgery on his right shoulder.

Other teams are also considering Kim at either second base or shortstop, a source briefed on his market said. Kim is targeting an early-season return, according to a source briefed on his progress. The Dodgers could use Betts at short and Tommy Edman or Gavin Lux at second until Kim is ready. They could also trade Lux.

Kim won a Gold Glove as a utility man with the San Diego Padres in 2023, and it’s difficult to imagine the Dodgers would not want him at short once he was healthy. If Betts stayed in the infield, Edman presumably would play center, joining an outfield mix that also could include Michael Conforto, Chris Taylor, Andy Pages and James Outman.

The cleaner way to replace Hernández would be with an outfielder. Suzuki, 30, is owed $36 million over the next two seasons and holds a full no-trade clause. Robert, 27, is owed $15 million in 2025 with $20 million club options in both ‘26 and ‘27, and lacks no-trade protection.

The Cubs, according to a source briefed on the club’s thinking, are not inclined to trade Suzuki even after acquiring right fielder Kyle Tucker. In the Cubs’ estimation, the market for right-handed hitters is thin. Replacing Suzuki, who has an .824 OPS in three major-league seasons, would be difficult.

Suzuki, however, will now be relegated to DH duty, with Tucker set in right, Pete Crow-Armstrong in center and Ian Happ in left. And while Suzuki hit slightly better as a DH than as an outfielder in a similar number of plate appearances last season, the Cubs acknowledge he might not want to serve in that role full-time. The mere possibility, according to a source briefed on Suzuki’s thinking, makes him more inclined to approve a trade.

Robert is the youngest of the right-handed hitters the Dodgers are discussing and carries perhaps the greatest upside. But because of his injury history, his downside might be greater, too. Only once in the past four seasons has Robert appeared in more than 100 games — in 2023, when he hit 38 homers, had an .857 OPS and finished 12th in the American League MVP balloting.

While Suzuki likely would play right for the Dodgers, Robert almost certainly would take over in center. The White Sox and Dodgers have engaged in numerous trade discussions over the past six months. As part of a three-team trade with the St. Louis Cardinals at the trade deadline, the White Sox sent reliever Michael Kopech to Los Angeles and the Dodgers sent outfielder Miguel Vargas and two prospects to Chicago.

For Robert, the White Sox do not expect to receive multiple top prospects, but would want a “meaningful piece” in return, a source said. The market for him could accelerate once the leading free-agent outfielders, Hernández and Anthony Santander, are off the board.

(Top photo of Teoscar Hernández: Jim McIsaac / Getty Images)