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Brewers, Yonny Hernández Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Brewers and infielder Yonny Hernández are in agreement on a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training, reports Robert Murray of FanSided.

Hernández, 26 in May, spent the 2023 season with the Dodgers but was mostly kept in the minors, only getting into 14 major league contests. In 93 games at the Triple-A level, he hit .252/.395/.342. He walked in 18.4% of his plate appearances and struck out just 19.9% of the time but hit just four home runs, with his overall production translating into a wRC+ of 93. He also stole 17 bases but was caught 12 times. Defensively, he lined up at shortstop, second base and third base.

The Dodgers outrighted Hernández off their 40-man roster in September and he was able to elect free agency at season’s end, allowing him to sign this deal with the Brewers. He will likely serve a similar contact-hitting depth role with his new club. He has generally had strong walk rates and low strikeout rates throughout his time in the minors but his four homers this year brought his career minor league tally to just nine.

The Milwaukee infield has plenty of question marks right now. Shortstop Willy Adames is the most surefire everyday player, but he is a speculative trade candidate since he’s going into his final arbitration season and has a projected salary of $12.4MM, with that figure courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. First baseman Rowdy Tellez is a non-tender candidate after a rough 2023 season. Players like Brice Turang, Andruw Monasterio, Owen Miller and Jahmai Jones all produced subpar offense in the majors this past season.

The club has been actively trying to improve the depth lately, having claimed Vinny Capra off waivers from the Pirates, acquiring Oliver Dunn from the Phillies and now bringing Hernández aboard in a non-roster capacity. If Hernández is selected to the roster next year, he still has an option remaining and less than a year of service time.

Dodgers Outright Yonny Hernández

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The Dodgers have sent infielder Yonny Hernández outright to Triple-A, the team announced. The move opens up a spot on the 40-man roster for second baseman Kolten Wong, who had his contract selected from Triple-A Oklahoma City this afternoon.

Wong signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in mid-August, two weeks after he was released by the Mariners. He struggled tremendously during his time in Seattle, posting an uncharacteristically poor .468 OPS in 67 games. However, he has gone 7-for-16 with two doubles and a home run in five minor league games since joining the Dodgers organization. With active rosters expanding to 28 in September, the Dodgers have decided to give the veteran a try.

Hernández came to L.A. this past offseason in a trade with the Athletics. He has been recalled and subsequently optioned twice this year and has appeared in a total of 14 games for the big league club. The 25-year-old earned his second call-up in late June, when utility man Chris Taylor landed on the injured list. He stuck around for a month, slashing .143/.240/.190, until the Dodgers traded for Enrique Hernandez and Amed Rosario at the trade deadline. He has been playing at Triple-A ever since.

With such little MLB service time under his belt and no previous outrights in his career, Hernández was not able to reject the assignment. He will continue to play for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers. However, he will have the opportunity to elect minor league free agency this offseason if he is not added back to the 40-man roster.

Dodgers To Place Chris Taylor On IL

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The Dodgers are placing utility man Chris Taylor on the IL with a bone bruise, according to manager Dave Roberts, as reported by Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.  He notes that infielder Yonny Hernandez will take Taylor’s spot on the active roster.

Taylor last appeared in a game for the Dodgers on June 21st, so the move will be retroactive to that date.  Back on June 16th, Taylor started a game against the Giants at third base, but exited in the fourth inning due to knee pain.  He subsequently received injections of cortisone and platelet-rich plasma in the knee, but didn’t go beyond a pair of pinch-hitting appearances after that.

Prior to the injury, Taylor had made four consecutive starts at third base following Max Muncy’s hamstring strain.  Taylor, 32, has also logged a notable amount of innings at shortstop and left field this year.

After a five-year stretch of excellence from 2017-21 that saw Taylor accumulate 14.7 WAR for the Dodgers with a 116 wRC+ at the plate, he reached free agency.  The Dodgers moved quickly to re-sign him to a four-year contract in November of ’21, but he’s slipped to a 93 wRC+ from 2022 to present.  Taylor joins a Dodgers IL list that includes 15 other players at the moment.

Hernandez, 25, has 56 big league games on his resume.  Originally signed by the Rangers out of Venezuela, most of his Major League experience came with that club in 2021.  The D’Backs picked him up in an April 2022 trade, but lost him to Oakland in a November waiver claim that year.  When the A’s quickly designated Hernandez for assignment, the Dodgers grabbed him for cash considerations.  He had a brief appearance with the Dodgers in April of this year when Miguel Rojas hit the IL, but quickly lost his spot to Andre Jackson (who was shipped to the Pirates this afternoon).

Hernandez owns a .260/.407/.385 line in 47 Triple-A games this year, logging innings on the left side of the infield.

Dodgers Place Miguel Rojas On IL With Hamstring Strain

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The Dodgers announced that they have placed infielder Miguel Rojas on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain. Fellow infielder Yonny Hernández has been recalled to take his place on the active roster.

Rojas, 34, was removed from last night’s game, with manager Dave Roberts speaking about the issue afterwards. He told reporters, including Juan Toribio of MLB.com, that Rojas had a hamstring issue and had been dealing with lower body stuff all season. It wasn’t clear how serious the injury was, but now Rojas will be out of action for over a week at least.

Acquired in an offseason trade with the Marlins, Rojas is known generally as a glove-first option at shortstop. He has a career batting line of .259/.312/.356, leading to a wRC+ of 84. He’s been well south of that so far this year, currently sporting a line of .125/.200/.156, possibly due to his lingering injuries.

Nonetheless, it’s a frustrating development for a Dodgers club that is dealing with various issues in its shortstop depth. Rojas was only supposed to be a part-time player, with Gavin Lux the planned everyday shortstop to take over for the departing Trea Turner. But Lux suffered a devastating injury in spring, tearing his ACL and damaging the LCL in his right knee, which will cost him the entire 2023 season. That bumped Rojas into everyday duty, though he’s now going to be out of action for a while himself. Super utility guy Chris Taylor has been seeing some time at short, but he’s also banged up, fighting some side soreness this week. Luke Williams was selected yesterday to give the club some cover and he’s in the starting lineup today, with Hernández now recalled to be the backup. He has just six games of major league experience at the position but much more in the minors.

All this is seemingly leading towards the surprising development of Mookie Betts getting some time at shortstop. He’s currently on the paternity list but Roberts told reporters, including Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times, that he would have gotten the start today if he were with the club. When he rejoins them, he could get a crack at the job, at least until Taylor or Rojas is healthy. Betts hasn’t played shortstop since his early prospect days, the most recent stint being in the Arizona Fall League way back in 2013. He was primarily a second baseman in the minors before the Red Sox moved him to right field in deference to Dustin Pedroia. He’s still spent some time at the keystone on occasion, including 35 innings this year, but playing shortstop at a high level would be a new thing for him.

Dodgers Acquire Yonny Hernandez

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The A’s announced they have traded infielder Yonny Hernandez to the Dodgers for cash considerations. Hernandez was designated for assignment earlier this week.

Hernandez, 25 in May, is a low-power, high-contact player. He has 55 games of MLB experience, including 43 with the Rangers last year and 12 with the Diamondbacks in 2022. He has a tepid .198/.293/.228 batting line in that time, but his 9.8% walk rate and 18.6% strikeout rate are both better than league average.

He spent most of 2022 in the minors, getting into 71 Triple-A games. He hit .241/.349/.324 in that time, walking in 11.7% of his plate appearances while striking out just 15.8% of the time. He also stole 30 bases, along with two more in the big leagues, something that is quite common for him. With the new rules in 2023 that encourage base stealing, that part of his game could become more valuable.

Hernandez brings a fair bit of defensive versatility to the table, having played the three infield positions to the left of first base, as well as left and center field. He only has five minor league home runs in his career and none in the majors, but he has a good eye at the plate and can move around the field. He also still has a pair of option years remaining, allowing the Dodgers to keep him in the minors if they so choose.

The A’s claimed him off waivers from the Diamondbacks in November but designated him for assignment when they made their signings of Jace Peterson and Aledmys Díaz official. The Dodgers’ infield took a few hits in recent months when Trea Turner and Hanser Alberto hit free agency, they declined their club option on Justin Turner and non-tendered Edwin Ríos. Hernandez will give them a versatile depth option as they build out their roster for the coming season.

A’s Designate Ernie Clement, Yonny Hernandez For Assignment

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The Athletics announced Tuesday that they’ve designated infielders Ernie Clement and Yonny Hernandez for assignment. Their spots on the 40-man roster will go to veterans Jace Peterson and Aledmys Diaz, each of whom signed a two-year contract with Oakland last week. That pair of deals has now been formally announced by the team.’

Clement, 26, was a late-September waiver claim out of the Guardians organization and appeared in six games for the A’s down the stretch, going 1-for-18 in that tiny sample. He’s appeared in 109 big league games across the past two seasons and tallied 312 plate appearances, albeit with just a .204/.261/.264 slash to show for it. Clement, however, has drawn outstanding defensive grades in a limited sample of 313 innings at third base (plus-5 Defensive Runs Saved, plus-7 Outs Above Average). He’s long been viewed as a player whose game is more built around speed and defensive versatility, though if he’s to eventually carve out a role as utility player he’ll need to hit more than he has.

In parts of three Triple-A seasons, Clement carries a much more palatable .261/.311/.419 batting line, and he has a minor league option remaining as well. He’s spent time at all four infield positions and in both outfielder corners as a professional, even tossing a pair of mop-up relief innings in the Majors. He also logged a fair bit of time in center field in college at the University of Virgina.

Hernandez, 24, is a similarly versatile player in the speed-and-defense utilityman mold. The A’s claimed him off waivers from the D-backs earlier this winter. He’s managed just a .198/.293/.228 batting line in 194 Major League plate appearances but carries a .245/.384/.324 batting line in 549 Triple-A plate appearances. Hernandez walks at a high clip and rarely strikes out, though his contact-oriented approach is entirely devoid of power, so the balls he puts into play are rarely hit hard — evidenced by the fact that he has just five home runs in 586 professional games (all in the minors).

That said, Hernandez has drawn plus marks for his glovework at three positions, per Defensive Runs Saved: third base (6 in 299 innings), second base (2 in 84 innings) and shortstop (2 in 39 innings). He’s also swiped 32 bases in each of the past two seasons. While Clement has one minor league option remaining, Hernandez has two.

The A’s will have a week to trade either player or else place them outright waivers, at which point they can be claimed by any other team willing to commit a 40-man roster spot. Should they clear waivers, both players could be retained as Triple-A depth without requiring a 40-man roster spot.

A’s Claim Yonny Hernandez From Diamondbacks

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The Athletics announced that they have claimed infielder Yonny Hernandez off waivers from the Diamondbacks. Additionally, the club has outrighted infielder Nate Mondou, left-hander Sam Selman and righties Austin Pruitt, Norge Ruiz, and Collin Wiles. The Diamondbacks also announced the claim of Hernandez, while relaying that infielder Jake Hager and right-hander Keynan Middleton cleared waivers and elected free agency.

This is one of the times on the baseball calendar when roster turnover is high, for a couple of reasons. First, there is no injured list between the World Series and Spring Training, meaning that players on the 60-day IL will soon be retaking their spots. Secondly, the deadline to add prospects to the 40-man roster in order to protect them from being selected in the Rule 5 draft is November 15. Those two factors both combine to squeeze certain players off rosters and onto waivers.

Hernandez, 25 in May, had spent all of his career in the Rangers organization until being traded to the D-Backs in April. He got into 12 MLB games this year, spending much more time in the minors. He hit .241/.349/.324 in 71 Triple-A games this year, wRC+ of 78. That’s not an especially impressive showing, but Hernandez fared much better in previous seasons and has always had good plate discipline. Despite the rough year, he still walked in 11.7% of his plate appearances and struck out in just 15.8% of them, with both of those numbers being much better than average. He’s never hit for much power though, having only hit five home runs in a minor league career that dates back to 2015. He still has options, meaning the A’s can keep him in the minors next year and try to see if they can draw something extra out of him.

Mondou, 28 in March, was just selected to the roster in October. He made his MLB debut by getting into one game where he made three hitless plate appearances, walking once and striking out once. In 108 Triple-A games, he hit .283/.374/.431 for a wRC+ of 105. Given his seven years of minor league experience, he will be eligible to elect free agency five days after the World Series.

Selman, 32 this month, has thrown 73 MLB innings over the past four seasons. He has a 4.81 ERA in that time with a 22.5% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate and 29.6% ground ball rate. He cut his walk rate to 6.7% in 2022 but also gave up four home runs in just 18 1/3 innings, leading to a 4.91 ERA. He’s eligible to elect free agency by virtue of having been previously outrighted in his career.

Pruitt, 33, signed a minor league deal with the A’s for 2022 and was twice selected to the roster with one DFA in between. He got into 55 1/3 innings on the season and registered a 4.23 ERA. His 17% strikeout rate was below average but he limited walks to a 4% rate and also got grounders on 45.5% of balls in play. He’s eligible to elect free agency both on account of his previous outrights and more than three years of service time.

Ruiz, 29 in March, was once a high-profile signing out of Cuba but saw his stock fade in recent years. A switch from starting to relieving in 2019 seemed to give him a boost, leading to him getting to make his MLB debut in 2022. He tossed 19 innings with a 7.11 ERA, though a .413 batting average on balls in play could indicate there’s some bad luck in there. He had a much nicer 3.73 ERA in 41 Triple-A innings. He should stick with the A’s as depth but without taking up a roster spot.

Wiles, 29 in May, got the call to the big leagues for the first time in September. He was able to log 9 2/3 MLB innings while putting up a 4.66 ERA in that small sample. He worked as a starter in the minors, logging 143 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 5.40 ERA. He limited walks to a 4.3% rate but was undone by 27 long balls in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Hager, 30 in March, appeared in 28 big league games for Arizona this year, hitting .240/.345/.280 in that time for a wRC+ of 84. He had fairly similar results in 72 Triple-A games, adding a bit more pop but walking less. He’s eligible to elect free agency based on the fact that he’s been previously outrighted in his career.

Middleton, 29, has appeared in each of the past six seasons, spending time with the Angels and Mariners before suiting up with the Diamondbacks in 2022. He tossed 17 innings in the majors and another 17 in Triple-A this year, with better results in the minors. He had a 5.29 ERA in the bigs along with a 2.12 ERA for Reno. He is eligible to elect free agency both because of he has more than three years of MLB service time and a previous career outright.

Diamondbacks Promote Ryne Nelson

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SEPTEMBER 5: The D-Backs officially announced Nelson’s promotion Monday afternoon. Reliever Luis Frias was optioned to Reno to free an active roster spot, while the club created a 40-man vacancy by recalling infielder Yonny Hernandez and putting him on the major league 60-day injured list. Hernandez, who strained his left calf while in the minors, is officially done for the season. He’ll be paid at the prorated MLB minimum rate for the remainder of the season

SEPTEMBER 4: Diamondbacks pitching prospect Ryne Nelson will make his MLB debut on Monday, manager Torey Lovullo told The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro and other reporters.  Nelson isn’t on the team’s 40-man roster, so at least one corresponding move will need to be made to create space for the 24-year-old right-hander.

A second-round selection in the 2019 draft, Nelson received some top-100 attention prior to the season, with The Athletic’s Keith Law rating him 74th on his list of baseball’s best prospects and Baseball America rating Nelson 96th.  Law felt that Nelson was “the safe bet who offers the strongest combination of current stuff and command” among Arizona’s top pitching prospects, which was enough for Law to rate Nelson slightly ahead of other notable D’Back hurlers Drey Jameson and Brandon Pfaadt.

Nelson will be the first of that pitching trio to make the majors, though Nelson has had a rocky time in his first exposure to Triple-A baseball.  Nelson has a 5.43 ERA over 136 Triple-A innings this season, with a 21.6% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate.  That walk rate is Nelson’s best over his three pro seasons while his strikeout rate is by far his lowest, and Nelson has also allowed 25 homers.  However, as Piecoro notes, these results are certainly influenced by the hitter-friendly conditions of Triple-A Reno and in the Pacific Coast League in general.

Nelson’s fastball is his signature pitch, averaging only around 93-94mph but with a lot of spin.  BA gives Nelson’s fastball an impressive 70 grade on the 20-80 scale, while Pipeline is a little less bullish with a 60 grade.  Pipeline’s scouting report also gives plus grades to Nelson’s curve and slider, and according to some D’Backs personnel, the slider could eventually become the right-hander’s best pitch.

It is worth noting that Nelson is still something of a work in progress as a pitcher, as he was a two-way player at Oregon and didn’t turn solely to pitching until 2019.  Between that relatively late start and the canceled 2020 minor league season, BA’s scouting report feels Nelson “could still have significant growth ahead of him.”  For example, he has made enough improvement with his control that he now looks like a viable starting candidate, whereas there was some feeling that Nelson would ultimately end up as a reliever.

The Diamondbacks see what Nelson can do in Monday’s start against the Padres, and possibly for the rest of September.  Lovullo said the club is moving to a six-man rotation in order to rest some arms and keep everyone fresh in the final month of play, with an eye towards juggling the rotation in advance of a September 20 doubleheader against the Dodgers.  After an day off on September 8, the D’Backs play 18 games in a 17-day span before their next off-day.

Diamondbacks Place Kyle Nelson, Cooper Hummel On Injured List

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The Diamondbacks announced a series of roster moves, including the placement of left-hander Kyle Nelson and outfielder Cooper Hummel on the injured list.  No designation was specified, which indicates that the placements are related to COVID-19.  With right-hander Edwin Uceta also optioned to Triple-A after yesterday’s game, the D’Backs will fill the three roster vacancies with infielder Yonny Hernandez and right-handers Luis Frias and Jacob Webb.  Frias was called up from Triple-A, while Hernandez and Webb were recalled from the taxi squad.

Nelson has been one of the most effective members of Arizona’s bullpen, posting a 1.23 ERA, 30.2% strikeout rate, and a 3.8% walk rate over his first 14 2/3 innings of the season.  After struggling at both the Triple-A level and in 10 1/3 big league innings with Cleveland in 2019-20, Nelson’s early-season performance could indicate that he has harnessed the big strikeout potential he showed throughout his minor league career.  The Diamondbacks claimed Nelson off waivers from the Guardians back in November.

Hummel is in his rookie season, with a .190/.313/.345 slash line (92 wRC+ and OPS+) to show for his first 99 plate appearances as a big leaguer.  The switch-hitter has seen a lot of DH and pinch-hitting duty, and Hummel has also received some starts in left field when a left-hander is on the mound (thus relegating David Peralta to the bench).  Hernandez is also a switch-hitter, though Jordan Luplow figures to more directly take over Hummel’s role while Hummel is sidelined.

As always with the COVID list, it is possible Nelson or Hummel could be activated as early as tomorrow, if their placement was only due to a close-contact situation or symptoms without a positive test.  If either has tested positive, Nelson/Hummel will miss a minimum of 10 days, unless they meet the criteria (two negative tests, clearance from three physicians, 24 hours without a fever) for early activation.

Rangers Trade Yonny Hernandez To Diamondbacks

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The Rangers have set their Opening Day roster, announcing a series of transactions that includes the trade of infielder Yonny Hernandez to the Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league outfielder Jeferson Espinal. Arizona has designated right-hander Humberto Mejia for assignment in a corresponding roster move.

Texas also designated infielder Sherten Apostel for assignment and selected the contracts of veterans Matt Bush, Charlie Culberson and Greg Holland. Right-hander Garrett Richards, meanwhile, has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a blister issue, while righty Jose Leclerc has been placed on the 60-day IL as he continues recovering from last March’s Tommy John surgery.

Hernandez, 24 next month, made his big league debut with Texas last year and batted .217/.315/.252 in 166 trips to the plate. His work in Triple-A, where he slashed .250/.424/.323 in 261 plate appearances, was far better. Hernandez walked at a gaudy 20.3% clip in Triple-A last season and has a penchant for drawing free passes and making contact, albeit rarely with any real power. He’s walked in more than 15% of his professional plate appearances and also possesses plenty of speed, evidenced by 23 steals in the minors and another 11 in the big leagues last season.

Hernandez has experience all over the infield and has all three minor league option years remaining, so he’ll give the D-backs some flexibility and versatility not only in 2022 but for the foreseeable future. He can be controlled for at least the next six seasons, and possibly more, depending on how much big league time he accrues while he has those options remaining.

Espinal, 19, batted a combined .259/.340/.357 between Rookie ball and Low-A last season, with the vast majority of his production coming at the lower of those two levels. Eric Longenhagen and Brendan Gawlowski wrote at FanGraphs back in January that Espinal has 70 speed on the 20-80 scale but a long swing and serious questions about his overall hitting profile. Espinal did swipe 16 bases in 19 tries last season, but he’ll have a ways to go before the Rangers can even hope to have him as a viable option in the outfield.

Apostel, 23, went 2-for-20 in his big league debut back in 2020 and didn’t appear in the Majors last season. He’s primarily a third baseman but has experience at first base as well. Apostel posted a lackluster .235/.321/.416 across three levels last season, topping out with a sub-par showing in Triple-A Round Rock. The Rangers will have a week to trade Apostel, place him on outright waivers or release him.

As for the D-backs, they’re in the same boat with regard to the 25-year-old Mejia. He’s tallied 32 1/3 big league innings but struggled to a 6.68 ERA in that time, and last year’s work in the minors was not decidedly more encouraging. In 103 2/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A, Mejia pitched to a combined 5.12 ERA with a 22.1% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate. Another club in need of some pitching depth might take a look in a small trade or via waivers, but Mejia has not yet found too much success above A-ball.

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