A’s, Nick Hernandez Agree To Minor League Deal

The A’s are in agreement with reliever Nick Hernandez on a minor league contract, reports Ari Alexander of Boston 7 News. The righty celebrates his 31st birthday with a new landing spot after electing free agency at the beginning of the offseason. The A’s also added Brooks Kriske on a minor league deal earlier this month, according to the MLB.com transaction log.

Hernandez is a Houston-area native who played his college ball with the Cougars. He was drafted by his hometown club in the eighth round in 2016 and pitched parts of seven seasons with the organization. He topped out at Triple-A and qualified for minor league free agency over the 2022-23 offseason. Hernandez signed a minor league deal with the Padres and cracked the majors at the end of the ’23 campaign. San Diego traded him back to the Astros the following year.

Over the past two seasons, Hernandez got into 15 MLB games. He was tagged for 13 runs across 18 2/3 innings. He posted consecutive sub-3.00 ERA showings in Triple-A. That included a 2.12 mark behind an excellent 33.7% strikeout rate over 46 2/3 minor league innings this year. The Astros never gave him much of a look at the big league level, though, largely because of his middling velocity.

Hernandez averages around 91 MPH on his fastball. He also features a low-80s slider and splitter. Hernandez has missed a lot of bats in the minors but doesn’t have the pinpoint control generally needed to succeed with below-average velocity. He walked nearly 12% of Triple-A opponents for the second straight year. Hernandez has given up eight home runs in 21 2/3 career MLB innings, magnifying the damage of giving away too many free passes. Houston designated him for assignment in the final weekend of the season and cut him loose after he went unclaimed on waivers.

Kriske, 32 in February, divided the 2025 season between the Cubs and Twins. He combined for 18 innings of 7.50 ERA ball. Kriske walked 15 of the 88 hitters he faced and has issued free passes at a near-17% clip over 39 2/3 career innings. Like Hernandez, he missed bats at a huge rate in Triple-A. Kriske fanned more than 34% of opponents while leaning mostly on a 93-94 MPH fastball and a low-80s splitter. He was around the strike zone in Triple-A this year but has had well below-average command throughout his career, as issue that again cropped up in his MLB work. He was outrighted by Minnesota in September and qualified for minor league free agency at year’s end.

The A’s entered the offseason with almost no experienced arms in their bullpen. They’ve added Mark Leiter Jr. on a cheap big league contract while stockpiling non-roster depth with minor league deals for Joel Kuhnel, Nick Anderson, Wander Suero, Matt Krook, Geoff Hartlieb and Ben Bowden. Kriske and Hernandez join the mix and figure to get invitations to big league camp. Sutter Health Park is a difficult venue in which to pitch but the lack of established relievers on the roster makes the A’s a solid landing spot for depth arms trying to impress in Spring Training.