MAY 25: Badler tweets that the Brewers, too, have now hosted a private workout for Hernandez.
MAY 23: Free-agent outfielder Yadiel Hernandez hosted a showcase for clubs last Wednesday, and Ben Badler of Baseball America now reports that the Marlins hosted a private workout for the 28-year-old at Marlins Park on Saturday, with president of baseball operations Michael Hill among those in attendance. Badler also lists the D-backs, Brewers and Rockies as teams that have been connected to Hernandez, who is exempt from international spending limitations due to his age and professional experience in Cuba.
Hernandez was recently declared a free agent by Major League Baseball and is free to sign at any time for any amount. He brings with him a career .324/.449/.487 batting line over the life of 2167 pro plate appearances in Cuba and is known for a discerning eye at the plate and excellent contact skills, though he does also possess some modest pop. (Badler recently noted that he felt Hernandez could hit 10 to 15 homers in a big league season.) Hernandez struck out in just 13 percent of his career plate appearances in Cuba and walked in 17.5 percent of his trips to the plate. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean that one should expect similar rates in the Majors, where Hernandez will face higher-quality pitching. It’s not uncommon for even the most successful Cuban hitters to see their strikeout rates increase by five to eight percent upon jumping to MLB, and Hernandez isn’t as highly regarded as some recent success stories were during their free agencies (e.g. Jose Abreu, Yoenis Cespedes).
The Marlins are somewhat of a curious fit for Hernandez unless they believe him to be more of a fourth outfielder than an everyday bat, as their long-term outfield is seemingly set with Christian Yelich in left field, Marcell Ozuna in center field and Giancarlo Stanton in right field. The D-backs, on paper, have a fairly set outfield rotation for the foreseeable future as well, with David Peralta, A.J. Pollock (once healthy) and Yasmany Tomas in addition to a pair of young infielders, Chris Owings and Brandon Drury, seeing time on the outfield grass, too. Beyond that, Arizona has a fairly promising outfield candidate in Socrates Brito in the upper minors.
Colorado and Milwaukee are a bit less settled, if for no other reason than the potential trade candidacy of star-caliber players Carlos Gonzalez and Ryan Braun (more so Braun, given Colorado’s 21-21 start to the season). Both could see their names floated on the trade market this summer, although both organizations also have highly regarded outfield prospects of their own that are in reasonable proximity to the Majors (namely, David Dahl in Colorado and Brett Phillips in Milwaukee).
Hernandez would almost certainly require some time in the minors to get comfortable in a game setting once again, whenever and wherever he ultimately chooses to sign. His last full season in Cuba came in 2014-15 (their season is played in the winter), so it’d be understandable if Hernandez came with a fair bit of rust. Those wishing to get a lengthier look at Hernandez can reference a full scouting report from Badler’s Top 20 Cuban prospects last season. A subscription is required, though with the 2016 Draft and the July 2 international free agent kickoff both looming, it’s well worth the price of admission for those seeking insight into the upcoming waves of amateur talent that will soon be available to MLB clubs.
white sox love their cubans. i can see brewers for sure or maybe the cubs since soler is a bust.
(1) Soler should not be labeled a “bust” (yet). Why? He’s only 24 and had limited time in the minors. He’s really still adjusting to the entire American life, much less baseball. Expectations are probably unnecessarily high because of his 146 OPS+ in 97 PAs in 2014. His 2016 BABIP is .236. Just be patient…
(2) Cubs will have Schwarber and Almora ready for 2017 likely.
I agree with Soler…although this guy is being paid $30 Million to “adjust to American life, and I guess th Cubs have money to burn….oh that’s right Theo is in charge.
Secondly, you Cubbies fans really love this guy Schwarber…..
71 games in the majors and you would think this guy is the second coming of Babe Ruth. And in reality he may be nothing more than an average all or nothing hitter that is meant for the DH.
Regardless of what he does with the bat…and I’m not thinking he’s the second coming…You better find some place to hide him on defense because he’s terrible with a glove….re: the series with the Mets.
Re: that was one bad series. Re: the whole rest of the season he was in left
Re: Theo doesn’t burn through money, that was Boston’s owner
Re: Nobody thinks he’s the next coming of Babe Ruth
Re: you’re a moron, go away
Re: Typical Cubs p
Wasn’t finished, meant to say fan, I love it when I end up making fun of myself while trying to make fun of someone else. But, Schwarbar does need to be traded to the AL, it was painfull watching him in the outfield. If you want him to be the next Babe Ruth, you can’t let him get hurt in the outfield.
KMA Cubbies bunny cubsfan2489!
you haven’t won anything in a lifetime and probably won’t.
All hail Theo!
Ah man, ya got me. The same old “the Cubs haven’t won and never will” thing gets to me so bad. Oh wait, no it doesn’t. It makes me laugh. Nobody wants Schwarber to be the next “babe”. He’s himself, that’s all he needs to be. And if you mean it was “painful” to watch him in the series against the mets, then yes, he was. Other than that, he was fine. Look at the stats for him in left. So on that note, the both of you can go root for whatever teams you root for, and you BOTH can keep hating on the BEST team in baseball. And that’s a fact.
How about the Reds ? Theyre going to trade Bruce,Hamilton’s a bust.
Braves will take Hamilton if you don’t want him
Why are the dbacks interested in another of?
If the Phillies arent in on this guy then there’s some serious stupidity going on. Phillies corner fielders are DREADFUL
Phillies don’t need him. Look what they have in AA and AAA
I’d be surprised if the Dodgers don’t sign this guy since lol
Never mind working the guy out, what are his “metrics”? Lol. Come on, break out the algebra. Yillllccchhhhh
C’mon troll, you can do better than this.
Maby padres
Solid
Not sure if the guy is a left handed hitter, but if he is, the Chisox better damn well be in, they’re getting absolutely desperate offensively and don’t have much to trade away, other than Timmy Anderson and Carson Fulmer, who they want badly to hold on to.
Jury still out on Soler, of late, looking better.
I think Schwarber will eventually be traded to an American League team.
Just seems to be a DH going forward. He was o.k. as an outfielder but was terrible in the
playoff series against the Mets .