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Elieser Hernandez

Elieser Hernández, Austin Dean Re-Sign With KBO’s LG Twins

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The LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization are bringing back right-hander Elieser Hernández and first baseman Austin Dean for 2025. Per Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News (X link), Hernández will make $1.3MM while Dean will get $1.7MM.

Hernández, 30 in May, was a midseason replacement for the Twins. Once a potential rotation building block with the Marlins, he missed significant time due to injuries, including the entire 2023 season. He returned in 2024 to get limited looks with the Dodgers and Brewers before heading overseas to join the Twins in late July.

He went on to log 47 innings for them over 11 appearances, including nine starts. He allowed 4.02 earned runs per nine with a 28.2% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate and 51.2% ground ball rate. Yoo adds that Hernandez also tossed 11 scoreless innings in the postseason. The club clearly liked what they saw and will bring Hernández back for another season.

For Dean, 31, this will be his third season as a Twin. He played in parts of five MLB seasons from 2018 to 2022 but never got more than a part-time role. He has found a regular gig in Korea and has made the most of it. He hit 23 home runs last year and slashed .313/.376/.515, then followed that up with 32 home runs and a .319/.384/.573 line in 2024.

The MLB minimum salary is going to be $760K next year, so both players have gotten themselves up into a higher level of earning power, and likely with some extra job security as well. For the Twins, they also signed right-hander Yonny Chirinos this week, so this fills their quota of foreign-born players. Each KBO team is allowed three such players, with a maximum of two pitchers.

Elieser Hernández Signs With KBO’s LG Twins

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The LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization announced that they have signed right-hander Elieser Hernández, as relayed on X by Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net. The righty will make an annual salary of $440K. KBO clubs are only allowed to roster two foreign-born pitchers, so the Twins have put righty Casey Kelly on waivers to make room for Hernández.

Hernández, 29, once looked like he was emerging as a viable rotation candidate with the Marlins but has endured his share of struggles in recent years. He started 17 times for the Fish over 2020 and 2021, logging 77 1/3 innings with a 3.84 earned run average. He struck out 26.3% of batters faced in that time and limited walks to a 5.7% clip.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t been near that kind of form since then. He struggled in 2022, getting bumped to the bullpen and also to the minors at times, finishing the year with a 6.35 ERA at the major league level. He was traded to the Mets going into the 2023 season but that ended up being a lost year for him as a shoulder strain prevented him from pitching in the majors and limited him to just 9 1/3 minor league frames pitched on a rehab assignment.

Here in 2024, he spent some time with the Dodgers and Brewers. He has a 6.32 ERA in 15 2/3 innings at the major league level and a 2.83 ERA in 28 2/3 innings in Triple-A. He recently elected free agency after being designated for assignment by Milwaukee and will now look for a rebound overseas.

Plenty of pitchers have been able to reinvent themselves in the KBO and have then come back to Major League Baseball, including Josh Lindblom, Merrill Kelly and Chris Flexen. The most recent success story is Erick Fedde, who won MVP in the KBO last year and parlayed that into a two-year deal with the White Sox. He’ll make $15MM on that pact and seems likely to be traded to a contender since he has a 2.99 ERA through 19 starts this year. That would be an absolute best-case scenario for Hernández but there’s plenty of precedent for guys going down this road and doing well for themselves.

As for Kelly, 34, he pitched for a few MLB clubs last decade but has been with the LG Twins since 2019. He has a 3.25 ERA in almost 1,000 innings for that club but his ERA has jumped to 4.51 this year. He was striking out 23% of batters faced in 2022 but that number dropped to 17.3% last year and is down to 13.9% in 2024.

Elieser Hernandez Elects Free Agency

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Right-hander Elieser Hernandez rejected an outright assignment from the Brewers after clearing waivers and is now a free agent, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. Milwaukee had designated him for assignment last week.

The 29-year-old Hernandez allowed a pair of runs in six innings with the Brew Crew and also tossed 9 2/3 innings for the Dodgers earlier in the year. He was tagged for nine runs in his time with L.A. and is currently sitting on an unsightly 6.32 ERA in this season’s 15 2/3 frames. That’s near-identical match with the 6.35 ERA he logged in 62 1/3 innings with the Marlins during his most recent MLB stint, in 2022. Hernandez spent the bulk of the 2023 season on the minor league injured list with the Mets.

While the past few years have been tough, Hernandez looked like an interesting arm with Miami as recently as 2020-21, when he pitched a combined 159 2/3 innings with a 4.45 ERA (4.10 SIERA), a 25.1% strikeout rate and a 6.6% walk rate. Home runs have long been an issue though, as is often the case with relatively undersized right-handers. The 6’0″ Hernandez sits in the low 90s with a four-seamer that doesn’t offer premium spin, leaving his primary quite susceptible to extra-base damage. He’s surrendered 73 homers in 303 1/3 career innings (2.17 HR/9);

Hernandez has good command and has regularly missed bats at a high clip with his slider (and, to a lesser extent, his changeup). Opponents have posted a bleak .189/.226/.436 slash against his slider and a .204/.268/.409 line against his changeup in his career. His heater, however, has been pummeled for a .299/.375/.562 line.

Though he’s struggled in the big leagues, Hernandez touts a career 2.87 ERA, 31.7% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate in parts of six Triple-A seasons. That track record, plus his interesting blend of secondary pitches, could get him another look from a club seeking some additional pitching depth. Hernandez has a starter’s background and made five starts with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate this season, though it’s fair to wonder what his repertoire would look like in a full-time bullpen role where his pedestrian fastball velocity might tick up a bit.

Brewers Designate Elieser Hernández For Assignment

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The Brewers announced a few roster moves before tonight’s game in Anaheim. Milwaukee recalled rookie infielder Tyler Black and right-hander Bradley Blalock. They optioned infielder Oliver Dunn to Triple-A Nashville and designated righty Elieser Hernández to open spots on the active roster. The Hernández DFA drops the 40-man roster tally to 39.

It’s the first major league call for Blalock, whom Milwaukee added to the 40-man last offseason. Blalock was drafted by the Red Sox out of high school five years ago. Milwaukee acquired his at last summer’s trade deadline in the deal sending struggling infielder Luis Urías to Boston. Blalock finished the season in High-A, yet the Brewers were still concerned another team would pluck him away in the Rule 5 draft.

Milwaukee optioned the 6’2″ righty to Double-A Biloxi to start this year. Working from the rotation, he has pitched to a 4.24 ERA through 51 innings. Blalock’s 18.9% strikeout rate is modest, though he has only walked 7.8% of batters faced. The Georgia native has shown advanced control in his minor league career. Baseball America ranked him as the #22 prospect in the Milwaukee organization heading into the season, while he checked in 15th in the system on Keith Law’s list at The Athletic. Both outlets suggest he has a chance to stick in the rotation behind a low-mid 90s fastball and decent secondary offerings.

For the time being, Blalock could step into the long relief role which Hernández had filled. Milwaukee has enough rotation questions to potentially give the 23-year-old a starting look at some point. The recently promoted Carlos Rodríguez has allowed seven runs in 8 1/3 innings over his first two big league starts.

Hernández spent less than two weeks in Milwaukee. The Brewers signed him to a major league contract on June 8, two days after he elected free agency upon being outrighted by the Dodgers. The Venezuelan-born righty pitched four times, tossing six innings of two-run ball with a pair of strikeouts and walks apiece. Hernández had made five appearances with Los Angeles and owns a 6.32 ERA in 15 2/3 big league frames this year. The former Marlins starter will probably end up on waivers in the next few days and could return to free agency if he again goes unclaimed.

Black, one of the game’s better offensive prospects, steps back into the MLB infield mix. The Brewers called up the Wright State product for the first time in late April. Black only got into seven games before being optioned back to Nashville. He has turned in strong numbers there, hitting .275/.374/.483 with nine homers in 243 plate appearances.

Brewers Sign Elieser Hernandez

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The Brewers announced the signing of right-hander Elieser Hernandez to a one-year big league deal with the team.  To create roster space, righty James Meeker was optioned to Triple-A, and left-hander DL Hall was moved from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list.

The Dodgers designated Hernandez for assignment last week and then outrighted him off their 40-man roster on Thursday.  Since Hernandez has over five years of MLB service time, he had the right to reject that outright assignment to Triple-A in favor of free agency, and the right-hander indeed took that path and quickly landed with the Brew Crew.  The decision seems like a wise one, as Hernandez has now landed both a guaranteed contract and a clearer route to playing time on a team with a lot of question marks in the pitching staff.

Milwaukee’s rotation has been ravaged by injuries, leading the Brewers to build something of a patchwork around innings leaders Freddy Peralta and Colin Rea.  Bryse Wilson and Tobias Myers have stepped into regular starting roles, and the Brewers were reportedly set to promote prospect Carlos Rodriguez in time for a start on Tuesday, though it’s possible this plan might change now that Hernandez is in the fold.

There is no guarantee that Hernandez will stick in the rotation, or even if he’ll necessarily be a primary starter — it’s possible Hernandez could be paired with Rodriguez in a piggyback situation to ease the rookie’s path into the majors.  Hernandez started only one of his five appearances with Los Angeles, and had an 8.38 ERA over 9 2/3 total innings.

That small sample represented Hernandez’s first MLB work since 2022, as he spent 2023 mostly dealing with injuries, while tossing only 9 1/3 innings in the Mets’ farm system.  Best known for his time with the Marlins, Hernandez showed flashes of being a solid starter over his five seasons with Miami, but injuries again hampered his ability to stay effective and stay on the mound altogether.  The right-hander has a 5.15 ERA over 297 1/3 career Major League innings, along with a 22% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate.  Opposing batters have taken Hernandez deep to the tune of a 16.5% homer rate, representing his biggest issue in run prevention.

A left knee sprain has kept Hall from pitching since April 20, and he’ll now be out until at least late June after suffering another sprain while on a rehab outing.  Hall told Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (X link) that he is trying to pitch through some damage to his MCL, and a consult with Dr. Neal ElAttrache led Hall to attempt to return a quicker return to the mound, with a fuller treatment or possibly knee surgery saved until the offseason.  The other option for Hall is to receive a PRP injection now, but that would sideline him until September.

Dodgers Outright Elieser Hernández

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The Dodgers have sent right-hander Elieser Hernández outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. He has the right to elect free agency but it’s not yet clear if he’s chosen to do so.

Hernández, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in the offseason. He tossed 28 2/3 innings over six outings for Oklahoma City, five of those being official starts and the other being a five-inning appearance after an opener. He allowed 2.83 earned runs per nine frames in that time, despite the hitter-friendly nature of the Pacific Coast League, striking out 29.8% of batters faced while giving out walks at just a 7% clip.

The Dodgers added him to their big league roster in the middle of May, giving him a spot start as they looked to give their other rotation members a breather. He allowed three earned runs in six innings and then got bumped to the bullpen, as he is not allowed to be optioned.

His work as a reliever was mixed but his most recent outing was especially poor. Against the Mets on May 29, he allowed a single, a home run and a walk before being pulled. The walk eventually came around to score, leaving him charged with three earned runs without recording an out. That bumped his season-long ERA to 8.38 and the Dodgers cut him from the roster two days later.

Hernández has more than enough service time to reject this assignment and return to the open market. He once looked like a potential rotation building block with the Marlins, posting a 3.84 ERA over 2020 and 2021 with a 26.3% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk rate. But he also missed time due to a strained right latissimus dorsi, right biceps inflammation and a right quad strain, only throwing 77 1/3 innings over those seasons.

But he then struggled badly in 2022 with a 6.35 ERA before more injury troubles largely wiped out his 2023. He only threw 9 1/3 innings in the minor leagues last year due to a right shoulder strain and right pectoral strain.

Hernández seemed to be back in decent form with OKC earlier and he’ll have to decide whether he wants to return to that environment or pursue opportunities elsewhere. The fact that he went unclaimed on waivers suggests that no club was willing to give him a roster spot, but perhaps a minor league deal with a team that has a weaker pitching staff than the Dodgers could increase his chances of getting back to the majors.

Dodgers Designate Elieser Hernandez For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced they’ve designated right-hander Elieser Hernández for assignment. They needed to clear an active roster spot for closer Evan Phillips, who is back from the 15-day injured list. The move drops the team’s 40-man roster count to 39.

Hernández made five appearances for Los Angeles, his first MLB work since 2022. The righty inked a minor league deal over the offseason and was selected onto the club two weeks ago. He made a spot start in his first appearance, working six innings of three-run ball against the Giants. The Dodgers kept him around as a low-leverage reliever. Hernández allowed runs in three of his four bullpen outings, coughing up three runs without recording an out against the Mets on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old has appeared in parts of six MLB campaigns. He worked in a swing role for the Marlins between 2018-22. Hernández typically posted good strikeout and walk numbers, but he has been very vulnerable to the longball. That was again a problem in his limited look with the Dodgers. He gave up five homers in only 9 2/3 innings, serving up nine runs in the process.

Hernández is out of options, so the Dodgers had to designate him for assignment to remove him from the MLB team. It’s likely he’ll land on waivers in the next few days. While Hernández didn’t pitch well in the majors, he worked to an impressive 2.83 ERA while striking out nearly 30% of batters faced over 28 2/3 innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City. That might get him a look from another organization. If he goes unclaimed on waivers, Hernández has the requisite service time to decline an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Phillips was sidelined for a little less than a month by a hamstring strain. He was out to another excellent start before the injury. Phillips turned in 13 2/3 innings of three-run ball, fanning 17 hitters while issuing four walks. He now has a 1.64 ERA over 148 1/3 innings since the Dodgers claimed him off waivers from Tampa Bay in August 2021. The Dodgers used a committee approach to the ninth while Phillips was out of action. Daniel Hudson, Alex Vesia, J.P. Feyereisen and Blake Treinen have each picked up at least one save this month.

Dodgers Select Elieser Hernandez

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The Dodgers announced they’ve selected right-hander Elieser Hernández onto the MLB roster. Los Angeles also recalled righty Eduardo Salazar from Triple-A Oklahoma City. In corresponding moves, the Dodgers optioned Gus Varland and designated reliever Nabil Crismatt for assignment.

L.A. adds a pair of fresh arms for what’ll be a bullpen game this evening in San Francisco. Neither Hernández nor Salazar has pitched for OKC in at least four days. They’ve each been working from the rotation in Triple-A and should be available for multiple innings. Hernández will take the ball first tonight.

In doing so, he will pitch in a major league game for the first time since 2022. It’ll also be his first appearance for a team other than the Marlins. Hernández spent parts of five seasons with Miami, where he generally worked in a swing role. He typically posted strong strikeout and walk rates and found some success between 2020-21. Hernández always struggled with the home run ball, though, and he was tagged for a 6.35 ERA while allowing nearly three homers per nine over 20 appearances in 2022.

Miami traded Hernández to the Mets over the 2022-23 offseason. He never pitched at the MLB level for New York. A shoulder strain essentially wiped out his ’23 campaign, leading the Mets to waive him at the end of last year. He joined L.A. on an offseason minor league contract and has gotten out to a strong start with Oklahoma City.

Over six appearances in the Pacific Coast League, the Venezuelan-born hurler carries a 2.83 ERA. He has fanned nearly 30% of batters faced against a 7% walk rate. Hernández has only surrendered a pair of homers in 28 2/3 innings this season, although he remains an extreme fly-ball pitcher.

Hernández has more than five years of major league service time. The Dodgers can’t option him back to Triple-A without his consent. It’s not out of the question that he’ll be taken off the 40-man roster again in fairly short order, but his strong work in OKC at least makes it a possibility they’ll keep him in the majors as a long reliever.

Crismatt also can’t be optioned, so the Dodgers had to designate him for assignment to remove him from the MLB roster. The 29-year-old righty has pitched well in limited action for Los Angeles. Crismatt has tossed seven innings of three-run ball, striking out six against one walk. He has pitched in two of the past three days, though, so he may not have been an option for much work tonight.

The Dodgers will have a week to trade or waive Crismatt. He has cleared waivers a few times in his career, once as recently as last month. He’d have the right to decline an outright assignment in favor of free agency if he again goes unclaimed, although he accepted the minor league assignment in April.

Dodgers To Sign Elieser Hernández To Minor League Deal

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The Dodgers are signing right-hander Elieser Hernández to a minor league deal, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. The deal for the MVP Sports Group client includes an invite to major league Spring Training.

Hernández, 29 in May, didn’t pitch in the big leagues in 2023. He was acquired by the Mets from the Marlins in a December 2022 trade but began the season on the injured list due to a right shoulder strain. He was activated from the IL in July and optioned to the minors, but was recalled shortly thereafter and placed on the IL with a right pectoral strain. He finished the year having tossed just 9 1/3 innings in the minors, then was outrighted off the roster in November and elected free agency.

He has shown flashes of promise in previous seasons, but often with health getting in the way. He posted a 3.16 ERA in 2020, but in just six starts due to a strained right latissimus dorsi. He then had a 4.18 ERA in 2021, but only made 11 starts, missing time due to right biceps inflammation and a right quad strain. Over those two seasons, he struck out 26.3% of batters and gave out walks at just a 5.7% clip. But his ERA jumped to 6.35 in 2022 before he endured the mostly lost season last year.

The Dodgers have generally been unafraid to sign players with injury concerns, betting on the talent showing up with some luck on the health side. Blake Treinen, Daniel Hudson, Jimmy Nelson, J.P. Feyereisen and Alex Reyes are just a few recent examples of players that the club has taken a chance on. In the case of Hernández, there’s no risk in bringing him aboard via this minor league deal and seeing what form he’s in once Spring Training rolls around. If he does make the roster, he can’t be optioned down to the minors since he has over five years of service time. He was worked as both a starter and reliever in his career but the lack of health will perhaps nudge towards spending more time in the bullpen.

Mets Claim Zack Short From Tigers

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Former Tigers infielder Zack Short has been claimed on waivers by the Mets, the Tigers announced. This comes amidst a flurry of roster moves for the Tigers, who needed to open up several spots on the 40-man ahead of the deadline to move players off of the 60-day injured list, as well as the deadline to add players to the 40-man before they can elect minor league free agency.

Drafted by the Cubs in 2016, Short was traded to the Tigers in 2020 in exchange for veteran outfielder Cameron Maybin. He made his big league debut the following season, appearing in 61 games for Detroit and struggling his way to a .141/.239/.282 batting line. The utility infielder spent almost all of the 2022 season at Triple-A, but he made his way back to the majors in April 2023 and never looked back. While no one could argue his bat was an asset, he posted a much-improved .204/.292/.339 slash line while showing off his defensive versatility all over the diamond. By the end of the year, he had appeared in 112 games, occasionally as a starter but just as often as a pinch runner or mid-game defensive replacement. 

While his offense may never be a strength, Short draws walks well, and he can put his plus speed to work when he reaches base. Moreover, his defense might not stand out at any one position, but he is capable of covering second, third, and short, and even the outfield in a pinch. As long as he doesn’t regress at the plate, his flexibility could earn him another shot at MLB playing time next season, especially since he is out of minor league options.

In further Mets news, all six players the team placed on outright waivers last week have cleared, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Bryce Montes de Oca and Peyton Battenfield have been sent outright to Triple-A and will remain with the organization, while Tim Locastro, John Curtiss, Elieser Hernandez, and Denyi Reyes have elected free agency.

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