The Guardians announced that right-hander Carlos Hernández has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding move to select left-hander Parker Messick, a move which was previously reported.
Hernández, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Tigers three weeks ago. Since then, he has tossed seven innings for the Guards, allowing three earned runs but with three walks and just three strikeouts.
The righty has some intriguing attributes but he has struggled lately and is out of options. That has pushed him into fringe roster territory. Dating back to March, he has gone from the Royals to the Phillies, Tigers and Guardians via waiver claims. Now that he’s been designated for assignment and the trade deadline has passed, he will be available on waivers again in the coming days.
Hernández averages in the upper 90s with both his fastball and sinker, in addition to throwing a splitter, slider and knuckle curve. He has occasionally used that arsenal to post some interesting numbers. In 2023, for instance, he logged 70 innings for the Royals. His 5.27 earned run average obviously wasn’t great but he struck out 25.7% of batters faced, a strong figure. His 10.3% walk rate was a tad high but close to normal for a power reliever. In 2024, he dropped his ERA to 3.30, though his strikeout rate fell to 20.9% as his walk rate ticked up to 12.4%.
This year, as he has bounced around the league, he has posted a 6.23 ERA in 43 1/3 innings. His strikeout rate has dropped again, sitting at 19.2% so far. As mentioned, those results and his out-of-options status have led to him continually getting bounced to the waiver wire.
It’s still possible another club out there sees some upside. As mentioned, the pitch mix is enticing. Hernández is also theoretically controllable via arbitration for another two seasons after this one. For a rebuilding club, there would be an argument for taking a flier. However, he is already making $1.16MM this year and would be due a nominal raise for 2026, so it also wouldn’t be a shock if teams find it hard to roster him.
If this is the time he clears waivers, he would have the right to elect free agency but likely wouldn’t do so. Players with at least three years of service time have the right to reject outright assignments but need five years of service to exercise that right and keep their remaining salary commitments. Hernández is between three and five years, meaning he would have to walk away from about $245K to head to the open market. He will likely stay and collect that money but then would be able to elect free agency at season’s end if not added back to the roster beforehand.
Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images
Poor Carlos he just can’t get a break…. He hasn’t been the same since he got put on waivers by the royals. He had such potential but he never reached it