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Nick Hernandez

Astros To Select Nick Hernandez

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The Astros announced they have selected right-hander Nick Hernandez to their roster, with left-hander Parker Mushinski optioned in a corresponding move. Righty José Urquidy, who is slated for season-ending surgery, was be transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot. Chandler Rome of The Athletic relayed the moves on X prior to the official announcement (link one and two).

Hernandez, 29, was just acquired from the Padres last night in a cash deal. He had signed a minor league deal with the Friars in January and has been pitching well this year. He tossed 23 2/3 innings for Triple-A El Paso with a 1.90 earned run average, despite the hitter-friendly nature of the Pacific Coast League. He may have benefitted from an 84.5% strand rate and 4% home run to flyball ratio, but he also struck out 34% of batters faced.

The Astros were intrigued enough to send some cash to San Diego and bring Hernandez back to his original organization. The Astros drafted Hernandez back in 2016 but he reached minor league free agency after the 2022 season, eventually pivoting to the Padres.

He’ll now have a chance to improve his small-sample major league stats. He tossed three innings for the Friars last year but allowed four earned runs, leaving him currently sitting on a career ERA of 12.00. He was outrighted off the roster before re-signing on a minor league deal coming into this year.

The Astros essentially had a free roster spot to use with Urquidy set to miss the rest of the year. The same is true of Cristian Javier, as he’s slated to undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow. He’ll eventually be transferred to the 60-day IL as well, giving Houston another roster spot to work with, which could lead to another small deal or waiver claim in the near future.

Astros Acquire Nick Hernandez From Padres

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The Astros announced they’ve acquired minor league reliever Nick Hernandez from the Padres (link via Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle). San Diego receives cash considerations in return. Hernandez was not on the Padres’ 40-man roster and will not immediately occupy a roster spot in Houston.

It’s a homecoming for the 29-year-old Hernandez in a few respects. He’s a Houston-area native who attended the University of Houston. Hernandez also began his career with the Astros, who selected him in the eighth round of the 2016 draft. The 6’1″ righty played in the organization until 2022, topping out at Triple-A Sugar Land. He qualified for minor league free agency after the ’22 season and signed with San Diego.

Hernandez got to the majors with the Padres last fall. He appeared in two games, allowing four runs in three innings. The Friars outrighted him off the 40-man roster at the start of the winter but circled back on a new minor league contract in January. He has been pitching at Triple-A El Paso, where he’s turned in excellent results.

He owns a 1.90 ERA across 23 2/3 innings despite the difficult pitching environment in the Pacific Coast League. Hernandez has punched out 34% of batters faced and has a near-31% strikeout percentage over parts of four Triple-A campaigns. He has typically issued a few too many free passes, but this season’s 9% walk rate isn’t far from league average. Hernandez has a full slate of options remaining, so the Astros would be able to move him between Houston and Sugar Land if they add him to the 40-man roster.

Michael Wacha Opts Out; Padres Give Qualifying Offers to Blake Snell, Josh Hader

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The Padres have extended qualifying offers to free agent lefties Blake Snell and Josh Hader, reports AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. The club also announced a batch of transactions, which includes each of Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo and Nick Martinez electing free agency. Meanwhile, Matt Carpenter exercised his player option to stick with the club. Additionally, the club outrighted right-hander Nick Hernandez and claimed right-hander Jeremiah Estrada off waivers from the Cubs.

The decisions of Lugo and Martinez were previously reported, as was the news on Carpenter. As for Wacha, it was reported on the weekend that the club was declining a two-year option to retain him for 2024-25. Wacha then had the opportunity to trigger a $6.5MM player option for 2024 but has now turned that down.

Wacha signed a four-year deal with the Padres, though one with a convoluted structure. The club would first have to decide on a two-year, $32MM option for the 2024-25 seasons, which they declined. Wacha then had three straight player options which could have paid him $6.5MM in 2024 and then $6MM in the following two seasons. But he has now turned that down, leaving three years and $18.5MM on the table in search of a new deal.

Although he was largely injured and/or ineffective for much of the 2018 to 2021 period, Wacha has now had two straight solid seasons. He posted a 3.32 ERA with the Red Sox in 2022 and a 3.22 mark in his first season in San Diego. Injuries still limited his total volume of work, as he logged 127 1/3 innings for the Sox and 134 1/3 for the Friars, but the combination of workload and effectiveness was nonetheless the best form he’s showed in years.

He’ll now head back to free agency in search of his next deal. The starting pitching market is headlined by guys like Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Aaron Nola and Jordan Montgomery but Wacha will be somewhere in the tie of solid mid-rotation or back-end guys, alongside Lugo, Jack Flaherty and Mike Clevinger.

The fact that Snell and Hader received $20.325MM qualifying offers is no surprise. The two of them are going to be some of the top available free agents this winter, making them a lock to reject them, something recently highlighted by MLBTR. Snell posted a 2.25 earned run average in 2023 and could receive the second Cy Young Award of his career in the coming days. Hader has long been one of the most dominant relievers in the league and had a 1.28 ERA in the season that just ended. Both should be able to receive nine-figure contracts even with a QO attached.

Any impending free agent can receive a qualifying offer as long as they spent the entire season with just one club and haven’t received a QO before. If Hader and/or Snell sign with other clubs after rejecting the QO, the Padres will receive draft pick compensation.

The departures of Wacha, Snell, Lugo and Martinez will leave the Padres fairly short-handed in their rotation. They still have Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove but they are followed on the depth chart by unproven options like Matt Waldron, Jay Groome, Adrián Morejón and Pedro Avila. They will presumably be looking to add to that group but will have to do so while juggling significant financial concerns.

Hernandez, 29 next month, was just added to the roster in September. He made two appearances, allowing four earned runs in three innings, giving him a career ERA of 12.00 in that tiny sample. He threw 61 innings in the minors in 2023, split between Double-A and Triple-A, with a 3.84 ERA, 32.7% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate. Any of the 29 other clubs could have added him to their roster today but decided to pass.

Estrada, 25, made 17 appearances for the Cubs over the past two seasons with a 5.51 ERA in that time. His 25.9% strikeout rate is a bit above average but his 18.5% walk rate is concerning. That’s generally been a pattern in the minor leagues as well, with Estrada striking out 31.2% of hitters at Triple-A in 2023 but walking 18.8%. He is still optionable next year, so the Padres will add some pitching depth that comes with roster flexibility, while they will presumably try to help Estrada improve his control going forward.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Padres To Select Jose Espada

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September 22: The Padres have now made it official, announcing they have selected Espada’s contract. Righty Nick Hernandez was optioned to open an active roster spot while Hill was transferred to the 60-day to open a 40-man spot.

September 21: The Padres will promote right-hander Jose Espada to the majors, according to an announcement from the American Association’s Milwaukee Milkmen. The pitcher confirmed the news in a Spanish-language interview with Antolín Ríos of El Nuevo Día. The Padres have a full 40-man roster but a number of players (e.g. Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove and Tim Hill) who are out for the season and can be transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Espada, 26, gets to the majors more than eight years after entering the professional ranks. The Blue Jays selected him in the fifth round of the 2015 draft out of an academy in Puerto Rico. The 6’0″ hurler would spend four-plus seasons in the Toronto system without getting past Low-A. He went to the Red Sox in the minor league Rule 5 draft, topping out at High-A in two years there.

After qualifying for minor league free agency, Espada signed with the Milkmen. He made eight starts in the independent ranks before getting back to affiliated ball on a minor league pact with the Padres. Espada tossed 40 innings of 4.05 ERA ball in High-A down the stretch last season and held his spot with San Diego into 2023.

Espada has divided this year between Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A El Paso. Working mostly as a long reliever, he has put together a sub-3.00 ERA showing at both spots in a breakout season. Between the two affiliates, he’s allowing 2.81 earned runs per nine across 83 1/3 frames. Espada has punched out an excellent 31.4% of opposing hitters against a lofty 12.6% walk percentage.

Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs wrote in July that Espada can miss bats with both his curveball and changeup but has below-average fastball velocity. After a winding road between three organizations and indie ball, he’ll get his first look on a big league staff. Espada can work multiple innings out of the bullpen for manager Bob Melvin.

Padres Select Nick Hernandez

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3:45pm: The Friars have now made it official, selecting Hernandez and transferring Sanchez to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man. They reinstated Robert Suarez from his suspension and placed left-hander Tim Hill on the 15-day injured list due to a sprained left ring finger.

1:58pm: The Padres are set to select the contract of right-hander Nick Hernandez from Triple-A El Paso, reports Ari Alexander of Houston’s KPRC Channel 2. He’ll make his big league debut the first time he takes the mound.

Hernandez, 28, is a former Astros draftee (eighth round, 2016) who signed with San Diego in minor league free agency this offseason. His first year in the Padres organization has been mostly solid thus far. He’s posted sub-4.00 ERA marks with strong strikeout and walk rates in both Double-A and Triple-A, working to a combined 3.60 earned run average with a 33.2% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate in 60 innings.

Hernandez has regularly posted quality ERA marks and missed bats in the minors. Command has been an issue at times, evidenced by a career 11.7% walk rate in parts of three Triple-A seasons –though he’s been quite a bit better in that regard this year. Hernandez will get the opportunity to show the Padres that he deserves a chance to stick at the big league level over the season’s final few weeks. He’ll be able to become a minor league free agent again at season’s end if he’s removed from the 40-man.

The Padres will need to open a spot on the 40-man roster in order to formally add Hernandez to the Major League club. That can be easily achieved at this stage of the calendar, however. Both Ji Man Choi and Gary Sanchez remain on the 10-day injured list despite recently suffering fractures. Choi has been trying to play through his injury in Triple-A and could still feasibly return, but moving either to the 60-day injured list would clear roster space for Hernandez.

Astros Agree To Deals With 6 Draft Picks

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5:30pm: Rogers’ deal is worth $614K, an exact match of his slot price, Berman reports.  Dawson’s deal also matches his slot value, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets.

3:29pm: The Astros have agreed to deals with six members of their 2016 draft class, reports Mark Berman of FOX 26 (links: 1, 2, 3, 4). Second-round outfielder/second baseman Ronnie Dawson, third-round catcher Jake Rogers, fifth-round third baseman Abraham Toro-Hernandez, eighth-round right-hander Nick Hernandez, ninth-round southpaw Ryan Hartman and 10th-round righty Dustin Hunt will officially join the organization.

Financial terms aren’t yet available on any of the deals, but Dawson stands to collect the highest amount. His selection, 61st overall, carries a $1.057MM slot value. MLB.com ranked the lefty-swinging Dawson as the 121st overall player in this year’s class, lauding the Ohio State Buckeye’s athleticism, raw power, bat speed and strength. Baseball America was more bullish on Dawson, placing him 53rd prior to the draft and also offering similar praise as MLB.com. However, BA doesn’t expect Dawson to end up in center field as a pro and wonders whether the 21-year-old will hit enough to hold down a corner outfield position.

Rogers’ pick, 97th, has a $614K pool allotment. The backstop from Tulane earned a higher rating than Dawson from MLB.com, which viewed him as the 87th-best player available and sees him as the premier defensive catcher in college baseball – and, per some scouts, the best defender at any position in this year’s draft class. Rogers’ lack of offensive skills could be problematic, though, as the right-hander has both a big leg kick that disrupts his timing and a long swing. BA had Rogers at No. 95 because of his defensive skills, but the outlet contends that he should put more focus on trying to hit for average to improve his issues at the plate.

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