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David Hernandez

Indians Sign David Hernandez, Jake Elmore, Steven Baron

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The Indians announced this morning that they’ve signed veteran right-hander David Hernandez, utilityman Jake Elmore and catcher Steven Baron to minor league contracts. Hernandez and Elmore will report to Summer Camp in Cleveland, while Baron will head to the team’s alternate training site in Eastlake, at their Class-A affiliate’s facility. All three have been added to Cleveland’s player pool, bringing their total to 58 players.

Hernandez, 35, wrapped up a two-year deal with the Reds in 2019. He was brilliant in the first season of that contract, pitching to a pristine 2.53 ERA and 3.38 FIP with 9.1 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 over the course of 64 innings. Unfortunately, the second season of the deal was as ugly as the first was impressive; in 42 2/3 innings, Hernandez was clobbered for an 8.02 ERA.

That’s an alarming number, of course, but it should be pointed out that Hernandez was plagued by a sky-high .393 average on balls in play — more than 100 points higher than his career mark. As was the case with many pitchers during last year’s juiced-ball campaign, Hernandez also saw his home-run rate soar (0.76 HR/9 in 2017-18; 1.48 HR/9 in 2019). He’d been in the original Spring Training with the Nationals but was cut loose.

The 32-year-old Elmore has appeared in 217 games and logged 527 plate appearances at the MLB level. Elmore is just a .215/.292/.275 hitter in that time, but he’s demonstrated substantial versatility; in 2013, the Astros used him at every position on the diamond — including catcher and pitcher. Elmore has at least 106 innings at all four infield spots, 234 innings in the outfield (including 14 in center) and has also caught 4 1/3 innings and pitched two frames (one run allowed) in the Majors.

Baron, 29, was the No. 33 overall pick by the Mariners back in 2009 but has never gotten much of a look in the big leagues. In 26 plate appearances, he’s batted .115/.115/.154. Baron is a veteran of 11 minor league seasons, though, and is widely regarded as a strong defensive backstop. He routinely posts strong framing marks in the minors and boasts a huge 39 percent caught-stealing rate in those 11 seasons. In 678 Triple-A plate appearances, Baron is a .237/.299/.313 hitter.

Nationals Release Hunter Strickland, David Hernandez

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The Nationals released right-handers Hunter Strickland and David Hernandez today, as announced by their PR department via Twitter.

Strickland, 31, was acquired by the Nats at last year’s trade deadline. The move was notable for two reasons: in part because he’d made only 4 appearances for the Mariners at the time of the deal after coming back from injury, but more notably because of the interpersonal implications of adding Strickland to the clubhouse given his, shall we say, complicated history with the club (recapped here by Scott Allen of the Washington Post).

Of course, if there were any ill effects, it didn’t hinder the club as they went on to win the World Series, and the Nats spoke highly of Strickland during his time in Washington. Strickland, for his part, contributed as a middle-innings reliever when the Nats were most desperate for one, putting up a 3.14 ERA in August. Unfortunately, the good times did not last for Strickland, whose season came off the rails as he finished the year with a less-than-impressive 5.14 ERA/6.31 FIP as the Nats turned to Daniel Hudson, Sean Doolittle, Tanner Rainey and Fernando Rodney for important innings down the stretch.

A propensity for surrendering long balls eventually cost Strickland his spot on the playoff roster. Strickland gave up 3 home runs in two appearances against the Dodgers in the NLDS, raising his playoff total to a somewhat remarkable 9 home runs against in just 13 career playoff innings. After his release, MASN’s Mark Zuckerman notes that the Nats will remain on the hook for about one-quarter of his $1.6MM contract signed this offseason.

Hernandez, 35, was brought in on a minor league deal after a tough season last year with the Reds. Hernandez racked up an 8.02 ERA over 47 appearances, though a 4.34 FIP certainly paints a much different picture of his season.

The Nationals also optioned Jake Noll, Aaron Barrett, Ben Braymer and Kyle McGowin to Triple-A. Jacob Wilson, Brandon Snyder, Taylor Gushue, JB Shuck, Dakota Bacus, Bryan Bonnell and Wil Crowe were reassigned to minor league camp.

It’s worth noting, the announcement of roster moves at this time is a little surprising, given the state of affairs. There was talk of a freeze on roster moves, but there was not a formal directive to do so.

Nationals Sign David Hernandez

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The Nationals have inked veteran reliever David Hernandez, according to the Baseball America transactions log. (BA stalwart Matt Eddy has handed the controls over to Chris Hilburn-Trenkle.)

Details aren’t available, but it’s surely a minor-league deal for the 34-year-old hurler. Hernandez is coming off of an especially trying campaign in which he carried a putrid 8.02 ERA over 42 2/3 innings with the Reds. He failed to turn things around in a late stint at Triple-A with the Yankees.

Thing is, little about Hernandez’s effort suggested those excruciating results. He racked up 11.2 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9 while carrying career highs in swinging-strike rate (14.7%), chase rate (35.3%), and first-strike rate (65.2%). Hernandez allowed more homers than you’d like, but 1.48 per nine hardly stood out in a season of the long ball.

In large part, Hernandez seems to have been the victim of poor fortune. He allowed a hefty .393 batting average on balls in play and carried a meager 54.5% strand rate. Statcast measurements indicate that opponents didn’t hit the ball any harder than usual. He was kicked around for a .376 wOBA that dwarfed the .318 xwOBA that the contact quality suggested.

The Nats will see in camp whether Hernandez deserves a shot at turning things around. He’s surely a better option than his 2019 ERA would suggest, though it remains to be seen whether he’ll warrant a pen slot in D.C.

Yankees Release David Hernandez

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The Yankees have released veteran right-hander David Hernandez, per an announcement from their Triple-A affiliate in Scranton (h/t: Conor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune, on Twitter).

The 34-year-old Hernandez had signed with New York on a minor league pact back on Aug. 15 after a disastrous season with the Reds, but he didn’t fare much better in his brief time with his new organization. Playing out the second season of a two-year, $5MM contract signed with the Reds in the 2017-18 offseason, Hernandez turned in a ghastly 8.02 ERA in 42 2/3 innings with Cincinnati. While he averaged a hefty 11.2 punchouts per nine innings pitched, the well-traveled righty also averaged 4.2 walks and 1.48 homers per nine frames.

More than anything, Hernandez appeared to be plagued by a gaudy .393 average on balls in play and a 54.5 percent strand rate that checked in more than 20 percent worse than his career rate. The Yankees took a no-risk flier on both of those numbers being aberrations, but Hernandez was tagged for six earned runs on five hits and eight walks through just seven innings in Scranton. He did tally 11 strikeouts, but the Yankees didn’t see enough to bring him north as a September call-up (as they did with veterans Ryan Dull and Tyler Lyons).

The release could mark the end of the season for Hernandez, although his track record should generate offseason interest. The right-hander put together terrific results just a year ago in Cincinnati when he notched a 2.53 ERA with 9.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and 0.84 HR/9 over the life of 64 innings. He missed the 2014 season due to injury but has otherwise averaged 63 appearances per season with a 3.39 ERA, 10.0 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 dating back to 2011.

Hernandez hasn’t lost any zip on his fastball from recent seasons — to the contrary, his 93.6 mph average is actually up from last year’s 93.0 mph mark — and his ability to induce whiffs is as strong as ever. This year’s 14.7 percent swinging-strike rate and 35.3 percent opponents’ chase rate on pitches outside the strike zone are career-highs, in fact. Hernandez has above-average spin on his fastball, and the .065-point gap between his actual opponents’ wOBA (.380) and expected wOBA (.315), per Statcast, is the ninth-largest in the league among pitchers who’ve faced at least 100 hitters. Overall, he looks like a solid bounceback candidate, though this season’s struggles could force him to settle for a minor league contract this winter.

Yankees Sign David Hernandez

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The Yankees  agreed to a minor league contract with veteran right-hander David Hernandez, as was first reported by Conor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune (via Twitter). The Yankees didn’t make any formal announcement of the move, but Hernandez actually pitched last night for the team’s Triple-A club.

Hernandez, 34, was released by the Reds on Sunday after struggling through most of the 2019 season. The veteran signed a two-year, $5MM contract with Cincinnati prior to the 2018 season and pitched well in the first year of that deal, logging a 2.53 ERA with 9.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 0.84 HR/9 and a 32.9 percent ground-ball rate. The 2019 season has fallen on the opposite end of the spectrum, though, as Hernandez was shellacked for an 8.02 earned run average in 42 2/3 innings.

Hernandez has already allowed more homers (seven) than he did in 64 innings last year (six), and his BB/9 mark has jumped from 2.4 to 4.2. That said, he’s averaged 11.2 strikeouts per nine inning pitched, the second-best mark of his career, and has actually seen his velocity improve over last year. After averaging 93 mph on his heater in 2018, Hernandez is averaging 93.6 mph in that regard in 2019. He’s also sitting on career-highs in swinging-strike rate (14.7 percent) and opponents’ chase rate (35.3 percent).

While his diminished control has certainly been a factor in his poor results, Hernandez has also been plagued by a .393 average on balls in play and a fluky 54.5 percent strand rate. That BABIP is the second-highest mark of any pitcher in baseball with at least 40 innings pitched (trailing only Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes), and only three pitchers have seen a lower left-on-base percentage in 2019. Hernandez carries a career 75 percent strand rate, making this season’s alarmingly low rate seem all the more likely to be an aberration.

There’s no guarantee that the veteran Hernandez will round back into form in a new setting, but he’ll look to right the ship in a lower-pressure setting with Triple-A Scranton — likely in hopes of emerging as a September callup for the Yankees. New York would only owe Hernandez the prorated league minimum for any time he spends on the big league roster, as the Reds will remain on the hook for the rest of this season’s $2.5MM salary.

Reds Release David Hernandez

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The Reds have released right-handed pitcher David Hernandez, according to The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans. Hernandez cleared waivers after he was designated for assignment on Friday.

Hernandez has seen his ERA balloon to an unpleasant 8.02 over the last month, a far cry from the 4.15 mark he carried into late June. After surrendering 5 home runs over his last 4 2/3 innings pitched, he was designated for assignment, effectively ending his Reds tenure.

Following his release, Hernandez will hit free agency at age 34 with 648 2/3 Major League innings under his belt. Though his recent performance doesn’t leave much room for optimism, there are some promising indicators that could earn the veteran another chance on a minor-league contract. Per Statcast, Hernandez’s hard-hit rate ranks in the 61st percentile, and while his sheer velocity has dipped to below-average levels, his fastball spin rate stacks up favorably against others’, no doubt contributing to a solid 26.8% strikeout rate.

Reds Designate David Hernandez

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The Reds have designated veteran hurler David Hernandez, per a club announcement (h/t MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon, on Twitter). He’ll be replaced on the active roster by fellow righty reliever Sal Romano.

For most of the season, Hernandez has underperformed in the results department while carrying sparkling strikeout-versus-walk numbers. Through the end of June, he owned a 46:11 K/BB ratio over 35 2/3 innings.

Things have gone south since late June, however. Over his past dozen appearances, Hernandez has allowed a whopping 22 earned runs on 23 base hits, including five home runs.

Hernandez does still carry a strong 14.7% swinging-strike rate for the season. But his struggles have coincided with a noticeable drop in his average four-seam fastball velocity.

While Hernandez is earning only $2.5MM this year, it’s a bit difficult to imagine the remainder of the contract being claimed given the depth of the issues of late. If he clears waivers, he would be eligible to keep his guarantee while still electing free agency and choosing another organization.

Reds Sign Ryan Lavarnway, Designate Jesus Reyes

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The Reds have signed catcher Ryan Lavarnway to a one-year, Major League contract, as per a team announcement (Twitter link).  Lavarnway’s signing was one of a flurry of moves from Cincinnati, as the club also designated right-hander Jesus Reyes for assignment and placed righty David Hernandez and catchers Curt Casali and Kyle Farmer on the injured list.  Taking their places on the roster are Lavarnway, and Triple-A callups Lucas Sims and Josh VanMeter.

Farmer is headed to the seven-day version of the IL due to a concussion, while Casali is on the 10-day IL (retroactive to Tuesday) due to a right knee sprain.  With starting catcher Tucker Barnhart also injured, the Reds were left in sudden need for help behind the plate, opening the door for Lavarnway to land a guaranteed deal almost immediately after he was released from his minors contract with the Yankees.

Lavarnway has recorded some big league playing time in each of the last two seasons, appearing in six games each with the A’s in 2017 and Pirates in 2018.  Best known as a former top prospect in the Red Sox system, the 31-year-old Lavarnway has a .208/.268/.326 slash line over 426 career plate appearances in the majors.  He’ll join Juan Graterol as the Reds’ makeshift catching duo until some reinforcements come off the injured list.

Reyes made his MLB debut in 2018, posting a 3.18 ERA over 5 2/3 relief innings.  Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2014, the 26-year-old has a 3.65 ERA, 7.2 K/9, and 1.88 K/BB rate over 406 2/3 career innings in the minors, though Reyes has struggled badly at Triple-A this season.

Trade Rumors: Andujar, Padres, Cards, J. Martinez, Rangers, Reds

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The Yankees were involved in the Manny Machado sweepstakes before the Dodgers acquired him from the Orioles this week, though adding him wouldn’t have led New York to trade rookie third baseman Miguel Andujar. Rather, the Yankees simply would have platooned Andujar at first base or sent him down to the minors while Machado played third, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required). The bottom line is that the Yankees “have no plans to trade Andujar,” writes Rosenthal, who adds that they recently turned down the Padres when they asked for the 23-year-old in exchange for reliever Brad Hand. San Diego ended up sending Hand to Cleveland in a blockbuster deal on Thursday.

More trade-related material as the July 31 non-waiver deadline approaches…

  • Thanks in large part to his defensive shortcomings, Cardinals first baseman Jose Martinez is seemingly shifting toward a part-time role. As a result, the Cardinals could trade the 29-year-old – perhaps for a left-handed reliever or lefty-hitting position player – Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. If the Cardinals are going to deal Martinez anywhere, it’ll likely be to a team in the American League, where he’d be able to work as a designated hitter. But it doesn’t seem the Redbirds are going to trade Martinez for Orioles southpaw reliever Zach Britton, whom they’re not pursuing, according to Goold. Since debuting in earnest last year, Martinez has been a minus defender in the outfield and at first base. He has done his best to offset that with his bat, though, having slashed .303/.372/.497 with 27 home runs in 663 plate appearances.
  • Sticking with the Cardinals, it doesn’t appear they’re going to move out any pitchers prior to the deadline. Top starter Carlos Martinez has come up in trade speculation, though president of baseball operations John Mozeliak indicated to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com and other reporters on Thursday that the team won’t be subtracting from its staff. “For us, the one core we have is pitching,” Mozeliak said. “And to start trying to arbitrage that would have to be a very special-type deal, otherwise it would make no sense to us. None of that has presented itself to me. No one has called me with any great ideas that way. One of the responsibilities is us looking at potential trades, potential partners, but nothing that I’ve looked at would make sense in that regard. I don’t envision us moving pitching.”
  • The Rangers won’t be trading pending free-agent third baseman Adrian Beltre “unless circumstances change drastically,” TR Sullivan of MLB.com writes. Despite Beltre’s age (39), Texas would like to re-sign the franchise great. Beltre, for his part, is a 10-and-5 player who’d be able to block any trade. Meanwhile, fellow aging Ranger Bartolo Colon isn’t drawing much trade interest, Sullivan reports. The 45-year-old has been a serviceable addition for Texas (4.64 ERA, 5.23 K/9, 1.43 BB/9 in 106 2/3 innings), though he’s not going to move the needle for a contender. Infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar would likely garner attention on the market, on the other hand, and Sullivan doesn’t close the door on the Rangers dealing him. The former star prospect, 25, is amid his best season, having hit .243/.326/.430 with nine home runs, eight steals and just 46 strikeouts in 350 plate appearances. Profar has produced those numbers on a low salary ($1.05MM) and still has two more years of arbitration eligibility left.
  • Reds relievers Raisel Iglesias, Amir Garrett, David Hernandez and Jared Hughes are “in demand” around the league, according to Jon Paul Morosi of MLB.com. Whether the Reds are interested in dealing any of those pitchers is unclear, especially considering all four are controllable beyond this season and the team may push toward contending in 2019. Iglesias was already a hot commodity entering 2018, while Garrett has performed well in his first season as a reliever, and both Hernandez and Hughes have been quality free-agent pickups for Cincy.

Injury Notes: Teheran, Buchter, Giants, Donaldson, Schoop, Nats

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Braves righty Julio Teheran left his outing today with what the team is calling “right upper trap tightness.” He had shown a concerning velocity drop before departing, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. The 27-year-old Teheran entered the day with a 4.00 ERA in his 27 innings, while carrying a career-best 12.8% swinging-strike rate, but gave up three earned in his three frames. It seems generally promising that there’s a muscular explanation for Teheran’s sudden loss of velo, though of course that does not necessarily mean he’s out of the woods and we’ll have to await further word.

Here’s the latest on some other health situations around the league:

  • The Athletics have placed southpaw Ryan Buchter on the DL, per a club announcement. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by Danny Coulombe. At this point, the team plans to shut Buchter down for at least ten days and possibly longer, as MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweets. The 31-year-old southpaw, who was acquired over the offseason, has been quite good thus far for the A’s. He’s carrying a 1.69 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 over 10 2/3 innings.
  • While the Giants will hold off on putting Mac Williamson on the DL, he’s in the concussion protocol at present, as manager Bruce Bochy informed reporters including Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). In the meantime, the organization has brought fellow outfielder Austin Slater onto the active roster, creating space by sending reliever Josh Osich to the 10-day DL. It’s unclear at this point how long Slater will have in the majors, but he’ll surely be hoping to follow the same track as Williamson, who kept on raking after receiving a promotion. Slater owns a .358/.435/.642 slash with just six strikeouts in his 62 plate appearances on the year at Triple-A.
  • Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson is beginning his rehab assignment tomorrow, as the team announced. He’ll open as a DH as he eases back into action, though the real test will come when he puts his throwing back on display at game speed. There’s similarly good news for the division-rival Orioles, who expect to send second baseman Jonathan Schoop on a brief rehab assignment next week, as Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. He has been out for two weeks with an oblique strain.
  • The Nationals, who are still waiting for a trio of important players, gave some updates today. (Links to the Twitter feed of Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com.) Third baseman Anthony Rendon is reasonably close and is expected to return in relatively short order after a brief stint on the shelf. It’s not quite as rosy for outfielder Adam Eaton, who has seemingly had some ups and downs in rehabbing his ankle issues, but — GM Mike Rizzo emphasized — also has not experienced any setbacks. As for second baseman Daniel Murphy, who has yet to play at all following offseason knee surgery, there’s still no timeline for a return.
  • A number of other players are already coming off of the DL. The Reds have activated righty David Hernandez and the Mariners have brought back first baseman Ryon Healy. Both were relatively significant offseason acquisitions for their organizations. Meanwhile, the Rays activated infielder Matt Duffy and the Rangers did the same with righty Tony Barnette.
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