The Braves signed Elieser Hernandez to a minor league deal back in November, as per the right-hander’s MLB.com profile page. Hernandez spent the end of the 2025 season in the Blue Jays’ farm system, and he elected minor league free agency at season’s end.
Atlanta saw plenty of Hernandez during his days with the Marlins from 2018-22, as Hernandez posted a 5.04 ERA over 287 2/3 innings as both a starter and a reliever. Miami parted ways with Hernandez in November 2022 by sending him to another NL East rival in the Mets, but Hernandez didn’t see any big league action during his lone season in New York, as injuries sidelined him for the majority of the year.
The righty caught on with the Dodgers and Brewers in 2024 and tossed 15 2/3 innings at the MLB level before electing free agency rather than outright assignment off of Milwaukee’s roster. He then signed with the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization since July 2024, and posted a 4.14 ERA, 27.17% strikeout rate, and 8.5% walk rate over 113 innings across the 2024-25 seasons. This caught the attention of the Jays, but Hernandez’s minor league contract with Toronto resulted in just a 7.91 ERA in 19 1/3 frames with Triple-A Buffalo.
Over his 303 1/3 career innings in the Show, Hernandez has a 5.10 ERA, 7.6% walk rate, and a 21.8% strikeout rate. His biggest problem has been the long ball, as Hernandez was taken yard 73 times during his relatively limited Major League career. This inability to keep the ball in the park limited Hernandez’s effectiveness in any capacity as a starter or long reliever.
While Hernandez did do a better job of limiting homers in the KBO League and even in his brief stint with the Jays, his tough results in Buffalo suggest that the right-hander is still a work in progress. The Braves will become the latest team to take look at Hernandez, and he’ll be one of many pitchers with MLB experience in Atlanta’s spring camp on minor league contracts. Hernandez’s ability to start games might give him at least a leg up on a Triple-A assignment, though the Braves have plenty of starter-capable pitchers already on hand in a depth capacity.
Maybe if this guy can learn to pitch at the bottom of the zone, he could salvage his big league career.
It is rare to see AA snatch up a depth piece who didn’t play for the Rockies.