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.
Losing Yonny Hernandez to keep Charlie Culberson is a foolish move. I hope Yonny puts it all together in Arizona. This is all Woodward. He loves aging vet bench guys who don’t produce on the field because that’s what he was when he played. They are unnecessary, just as he was.
Woodward does seem to have a soft spot for those Charlie Culberson types, being he was one.
I don’t get the move, I’d rather keep Hernandez in the utility role over Culberson, but Hernandez is blocked at 2B and probably won’t hit for enough power to stick at 3B.
Isn’t designating an Apostel for assignment sacrilege?
Not if it’s the one called Aero.
Yonny draws walks and steals bases, so despite his lack of a hit tool, that and his versatility would seem to be helpful to a contending club. Arizona is not a contender, however.
Apostle gonna come back to bite em in the ass! SMH
There’s a good chance he’ll clear waivers. He’s struggled of late and is currently injured.
Most teams aren’t going to want to drop someone they’ve had all spring on opening day to add him to their 40-man roster.
It will not be surprising if Pittsburgh claims Sherten Apostel. They signed him originally before trading him to Texas. The Pirates aren’t loaded with talent. I hope he sneaks through waivers. If he doesn’t, it’s just another mistake by JD and the Rangers incompetent front office. Spencer Patton was the clear choice to be designated for assignment over Apostel. SMH.
I wonder if Hernandez is going to play 3B for Arizona?
Tribesufferer. The Dbacks don’t have a 3b right now. Josh Rojas will play 3b for them when he is healthy again, but he’s not a 3b either. I suspect Hernandez will at least split playing time at 3b until Rojas comes back healthy.
I also suspect the Dbacks tried to trade for a legitimate 3b, but finding nothing to their liking settled on Hernandez. Giving up Espinal is not the least bit painful a price to pay.
I had advocated the Dbacks trade for Matt Chapman from the As, but I guess they considered him too hefty a commitment, given the Dbacks’ current situation.
This trade for Hernandez also shows the Dbacks have zero faith in Drew Ellis.
Thanks for the info. I’m a new Diamondbacks fan, and appreciate it.
Welcome. This year, I think you can suffer for the Snakes!
Yonny Hernandez was just optioned to AAA Reno, so I guess he’s just depth for now?
So who’s your beyguess to play 3B?
Snakesufferer. Ultimately it’s #10 Prospect AJ Vukovich, ETA to majors next year. Unless they find the right deal, I don’t expect a blockbuster trade for a 3b. So, they will primarily use Josh Rojas, when he gets healthy. Until then, the announced Opening Day roster includes Drew Ellis, so I guess they will give him another look while Rojas is injured. They also have Matt Davidson at AA Amarillo, if Ellis can’t keep his head above water. The other options are light hitting infield utility guys. So, it’s a patchwork for 2022, just to get through the year, trying different guys to see if they strike gold somewhere, and hoping Vukovich develops fast.
Yeah, I’ve done a little studying on the system, and I’m also looking forward to Vukovich. As for Davidson? I hope it doesn’t come to that.
The Rangers’ system is loaded with middle infielders that offer a good bit more offense than Hernandez. Signing 2 middle infielders to long-term deals has created a logjam. Gotta start thinning them out somehow.
AZ BOTTOM FEEDERS