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Yadiel Hernandez

Nationals Select Jordy Mercer, Hernan Perez; Option Carter Kieboom

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The Nationals announced they’ve selected the contracts of infielders Jordy Mercer and Hernán Pérez. First baseman Jake Noll has been designated for assignment to clear 40-man roster space. Washington also optioned five players to Triple-A: Carter Kieboom, Luis Garcia, Sam Clay, Kyle McGowin and Yadiel Hernández. Additionally, the Nats released Yasmany Tomás and T.J. McFarland from their respective minor-league contracts.

Today’s slate of moves lends some clarity to the Nationals’ infield plans. With Kieboom out of the picture, it seems Washington is prepared to turn to veteran Josh Harrison at third base on most days. Mercer and Pérez will be on hand as utility options to back up Harrison, Trea Turner and Starlin Castro around the dirt.

Mercer had a fairly lengthy run as a regular shortstop with the Pirates and Tigers between 2013-19. He signed a minor-league deal with the Nats in February and now locks in a $1MM base salary as a bench piece. He’s joined in that regard by Pérez, who is more familiar with a utility role. The 30-year-old previously bounced around the diamond quite a bit with the Brewers, where he flashed some power and speed but struggled to get on base consistently.

Noll, 27, hit well in the minors up to Triple-A. But he struggled there in 2019 and has only gotten 30 MLB plate appearances over the past two seasons. The Nats have a week to trade or waive him. Noll still has a minor-league option year remaining, so he brings some roster flexibility that could intrigue other clubs.

Tomás and McFarland signed non-roster deals with the Nationals over the offseason. The former was once a regular corner outfielder with the Diamondbacks but has barely played at the MLB level since 2017. The latter pitched in 23 games for the A’s with a 4.35 ERA/4.56 SIERA last season. They’ll now return to the open market. As Maria Torres of the Athletic points out (on Twitter), McFarland’s departure seems to suggest fellow non-roster invitee Luis Avilán will earn a season-opening lefty bullpen role.

Nationals Select Yadiel Hernandez

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The Nationals are selecting the contract of outfielder Yadiel Hernandez after placing veteran Howie Kendrick on the injured list yesterday, manager Dave Martinez announced to reporters today (Twitter link via Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). The team’s recent DFA of Wilmer Difo left them with a vacancy on the 40-man roster.

Whenever Hernandez gets into a game, it’ll mark the MLB debut for the 32-year-old. A high-quality performer for los Cocodrilos de Matnzas in the Cuban National Series from 2009-14, Hernandez defected from Cuba back in 2015 and began the lengthy process of establishing himself as a free agent for Major League clubs. He signed with the Nats for $200K more than a year after leaving Cuba and spent the 2017-19 seasons climbing through their minor league system.

That rise through the Nats’ farm included a monstrous .324/.406/.604 showing in Triple-A last year (139 wRC+), during which Hernandez slugged 33 homers, 22 doubles and a triple while going 7-for-12 in stolen base attempts. We don’t see too many soon-to-be 33-year-old rookies of note, but Hernandez has performed at a high level in Cuba’s top league and throughout three full minor league seasons, so he’ll carry a bit more intrigue than the standard journeyman receiving a September cup of coffee.

NL Notes: Donaldson, Braves, Mets, Arenado, Hernandez

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A fourth guaranteed year has been said to be the lynchpin in any potential deal for third baseman Josh Donaldson this winter, leaving interested teams in a precarious spot as they play chicken with the veteran’s representatives. The Braves, in particular, could be in something of a no-mans-land if they miss out on Donaldson, as they would lose their incumbent starter and potentially see a league rival (Nationals, Dodgers) strengthen their lineup at the same time. As David O’Brien of The Athletic sees it, the team’s two recourses in the event of a Donaldson departure may be the exploration of trades for either Kris Bryant of the Cubs or Nolan Arenado of the Rockies—and neither of those options is entirely realistic in the writer’s eyes. For Bryant, his ongoing grievance with the Cubs adds a fair bit of uncertainty for any interested trade partner. While the Cubs are, as O’Brien puts it, “widely expected” to win that grievance hearing and maintain two years of control on Bryant, it’s not impossible that the tide could swing in Bryant’s favor and leave him with just one year left.

When it comes to Arenado, O’Brien seems merely skeptical that Atlanta would be willing to swallow a contract of that magnitude, considering that the $35MM annual salaries in Arenado’s deal would more than double the highest salary that Braves star Ronald Acuna will make in the final years of the eight-year, $100MM extension he signed in April. Then again, Donaldson has reportedly given the Braves the right of last refusal on any potential deal, so it may well be that Atlanta ends up viewing a four-year Donaldson deal as the most reasonable course of action. Given that Washington and Minnesota have reportedly made four-year offers already, this may be a case of a player waiting for his preferred team to blink.

More from around the NL…

  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post sees no such obstacle standing in the way of an Arenado-Mets pairing. As Sherman notes, the team’s ability to save as much as $23.5MM in the Yoenis Cespedes adjustment may give them some crucial breathing room to entertain a truly franchise-altering blockbuster. Additionally, the club may be well served to counter the Yankees Gerrit Cole addition with a headline-grabbing move of their own, and Steve Cohen’s continued negotiations with the Sterling partners to become the majority owner of the Mets may offer them some added financial backbone in the near future. Still, a deal for Arenado would realistically cost the team not just payroll space, but also a talented young player of the Jeff McNeil variety—not exactly an easy price to pay in its own right.
  • Nationals organizational outfielder Yadiel Hernandez will be extended an invite to big league Spring Training in recognition of his excellent 2019 season in Triple-A, reports Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post. Dougherty adds that Hernandez will get at least a “small look” in camp, after a ’19 campaign in which the 32-year-old hit .323/.406/.604 with 33 home runs. It’s not exactly common to see 32-year-old rookies, but there does come a point where, juiced ball caveats aside, a player’s performance demands at least a trial run at the highest level. Plus, Hernandez did come over with a fair amount of recognition as an international signing out of Cuba in advance of the 2017 season. As things stand now, the champs will enter 2020 with Michael A. Taylor and Andrew Stevenson as bench outfielders.

Nationals Notes: Turner, Zimmerman, Ramos, Melancon, Hernandez, Revere

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Nats GM Mike Rizzo spoke with the press today about the offseason to come, as Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com reports. He expressed satisfaction with the “good, steady brand of baseball” that the club displayed, while acknowledging the disappointment of failing to advance in the playoffs. Rizzo wasn’t keen to offer up much in the way of details on the team’s planning, but did provide some insight. Here are the highlights from his press conference and a few more notes on the team:

  • Rizzo praised his roster’s versatility, suggesting that it allows “a lot of different directions to improve our ballclub.” Trea Turner, in particular, could occupy a middle infield role or play in center — leaving the Nats free to pursue a center fielder, shortstop, or perhaps even a corner outfielder (while moving Bryce Harper to center). As Rizzo put it, Turner’s presence “allows us to build around that, meaning that it gives us more options in the marketplace to improve the ballclub.”
  • One thing that won’t occur is a permanent move of Turner to second base, with Daniel Murphy taking over for Ryan Zimmerman at first. “No, Zim’s our first baseman going into this offseason and spring training,” Rizzo said. The veteran struggled to a .218/.272/.370 batting line this year, by far his worst as a big leaguer, but he made plenty of hard contact (34.7%) and may have been unfortunate to carry a .248 BABIP.
  • The Nats have some notable free agents, of course, including catcher Wilson Ramos and closer Mark Melancon. Rizzo wouldn’t commit to a strategy on the burly backstop, whose season ended with ACL surgery. The plan is to “do all the due diligence on the medicals” before making a call on issuing Ramos a qualifying offer and deciding whether to pursue him.
  • As for Melancon, Rizzo offered effusive praise for his work on the mound and presence in the clubhouse. Looking ahead, though, Rizzo suggested that he isn’t locked into Melancon or the other top relief options on the market. “It’s a broad, deep reliever market this year, and Mark is one of the elite relievers in the marketplace,” he said. “In a perfect world, you’d always like to have a guy that’s done it in the most competitive situations, but that’s not always possible. We’ve got a lot of options as far as guys with plus stuff and plus makeup, and it’s a deep relief market this year. So there’s different avenues to go and different routes that are attractive to us.” One possible internal candidate for ninth-inning duties, righty Shawn Kelley, is expected to be fully healthy after leaving the team’s final game with what looked to be a concerning injury, though it seems fair to expect the organization to pursue a closer regardless.
  • The Nationals’ decision to ink Cuban outfielder Yadiel Hernandez was somewhat uncharacteristic, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post explores. Washington has largely sat out the market for Cuban players, but chose to take a limited risk ($200K bonus without promising a MLB roster spot) on the 29-year-old. Hernandez was worth the risk, per VP of international ops Johnny DiPuglia, because “he’s a legit left-handed hitter who grinds at-bats” and is capable of playing center field. Depending upon how the offseason progresses, Hernandez could conceivably position himself as a depth or even a bench piece, though the team hasn’t staked much on that possibility. “We thought we’d take a chance on him,” said DiPuglia. “He’s got a profile for us. We’ll find out.”
  • One reason to add Hernandez? The fact that the team has an expensive decision to make on left-handed-hitting center fielder Ben Revere, who projects to earn $6.3MM in arbitration even after a dreadful campaign. Zuckerman looks at Revere’s 2016 season and the options for the Nats. From my perspective, there’s no real chance that the team will trust Revere with the regular job in center, making it hard to imagine that it will stake over $6MM on him. That’s especially true given the presence of Brian Goodwin, a former top prospect who made strides at Triple-A and showed well in his first taste of the majors.

 

Nationals To Sign Cuban Outfielder Yadiel Hernandez

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The Nationals have agreed to a deal with Cuban outfielder Yadiel Hernandez, as Jorge Ebro of el Nuevo Herald reports. He’ll receive a $200K bonus, with Ben Badler of Baseball America adding that it comes on a minor league deal.

Hernandez, 29, has been free to sign since April, but failed to hook on with an organization until the minor league season already ended. As a result, he’ll have to wait for his first chance at competitive, regular season action until next year, though presumably he’ll be able to participate in various fall and winter activities and leagues.  Hernandez last played in a full-fledged game early last year.

It’s a bit surprising that Hernandez had to wait so long and was only able to secure such a meager bonus, but perhaps his showcases haven’t been convincing. Hernandez’s age is obviously a limiting factor on his value, but teams have promised tens of millions of dollars to even older players out of Cuba. But Badler suggests that he is good enough to warrant placement at Triple-A or even to battle for a major league roster spot out of camp.

Indeed, the numbers in Cuba have shown plenty of promise. In his last Serie Nacional campaign, Hernandez put up a robust .369/.509/.535 batting line with 7 home runs over 369 trips to the plate. There obviously isn’t much power in his game — he has never hit more than ten in a single season — but he also managed 77 walks against just 47 strikeouts in that span, which seemingly suggests that he will bring an advanced approach with him to D.C.

Hernandez is viewed as being capable of playing an average right or left field, but it doesn’t seem as if there’s much hope of him lining up in center — which is where the Nats could most benefit from a left-handed bat in 2017. Still, he’ll add to the organization’s depth options next season and beyond, and the meager bonus makes this an extremely low-risk signing.

AL Notes: Profar, Young, Jays’ Farm, Twins, Ausmus

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In theory, Jurickson Profar could stay up for the Rangers even after Rougned Odor returns from his suspension, functioning in some kind of utility capacity. But as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News explains, the likelihood remains that he’ll head back to Triple-A: while Profar could well represent an upgrade over Hanser Alberto, it would be tough to find sufficient action for a player who still needs reps after a long layoff. It is worth noting that Texas slotted Profar right into the leadoff spot tonight, and he could conceivably play his way into a bigger role.

More from the American League:

  • Righty Chris Young will join the bullpen upon his return to the Royals, manager Ned Yost told reporters including Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter). Yost did add, though, that he foresees Young returning to the starting staff at some point this year.
  • In addition to addressing other topics, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins raised some concerns with the state of talent in the team’s farm system, he tells Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. While he sees “some guys who could be everyday major league players,” Atkins says he’s concerned that the organization lacks “the depth of those guys that could turn into major league players, that larger number of what we call in the industry a Role 4 player, someone who is maybe not an everyday player but a solid contributing player, who could turn into a five.” That could tell when it comes to deadline additions, the new general manager suggests. “There’s no question that it impacts it,” he said. “We will have to keep our eyes on the future, but we recognize this window and opportunity. … I think fortunately we do have enough assets that if we wanted to make a move like that, we could. I think the question then becomes at what expense and at what level of sacrifice.”
  • The Twins spoke with the reps for Yadiel Hernandez, but the team doesn’t seem inclined to pursue him, per Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter links). It’s unclear whether Minnesota has interest in fellow Cuban free agents Jose Miguel Fernandez and Lazaro Armenteros, but Wolfson adds that the club did have eyes on them in their recent showcase.
  • Tigers GM Al Avila tells MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio link) that he stands behind embattled skipper Brad Ausmus. After tonight’s win, Detroit is on a 9-and-2 run since dropping to a season-worst 15-21 record recently. That leaves the club well within striking distance in the AL Central, which still looks to be a four-team dogfight.

Four Teams Linked To Cuban Outfielder Yadiel Hernandez

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MAY 25: Badler tweets that the Brewers, too, have now hosted a private workout for Hernandez.

MAY 23: Free-agent outfielder Yadiel Hernandez hosted a showcase for clubs last Wednesday, and Ben Badler of Baseball America now reports that the Marlins hosted a private workout for the 28-year-old at Marlins Park on Saturday, with president of baseball operations Michael Hill among those in attendance. Badler also lists the D-backs, Brewers and Rockies as teams that have been connected to Hernandez, who is exempt from international spending limitations due to his age and professional experience in Cuba.

Hernandez was recently declared a free agent by Major League Baseball and is free to sign at any time for any amount. He brings with him a career .324/.449/.487 batting line over the life of 2167 pro plate appearances in Cuba and is known for a discerning eye at the plate and excellent contact skills, though he does also possess some modest pop. (Badler recently noted that he felt Hernandez could hit 10 to 15 homers in a big league season.) Hernandez struck out in just 13 percent of his career plate appearances in Cuba and walked in 17.5 percent of his trips to the plate. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean that one should expect similar rates in the Majors, where Hernandez will face higher-quality pitching. It’s not uncommon for even the most successful Cuban hitters to see their strikeout rates increase by five to eight percent upon jumping to MLB, and Hernandez isn’t as highly regarded as some recent success stories were during their free agencies (e.g. Jose Abreu, Yoenis Cespedes).

The Marlins are somewhat of a curious fit for Hernandez unless they believe him to be more of a fourth outfielder than an everyday bat, as their long-term outfield is seemingly set with Christian Yelich in left field, Marcell Ozuna in center field and Giancarlo Stanton in right field. The D-backs, on paper, have a fairly set outfield rotation for the foreseeable future as well, with David Peralta, A.J. Pollock (once healthy) and Yasmany Tomas in addition to a pair of young infielders, Chris Owings and Brandon Drury, seeing time on the outfield grass, too. Beyond that, Arizona has a fairly promising outfield candidate in Socrates Brito in the upper minors.

Colorado and Milwaukee are a bit less settled, if for no other reason than the potential trade candidacy of star-caliber players Carlos Gonzalez and Ryan Braun (more so Braun, given Colorado’s 21-21 start to the season). Both could see their names floated on the trade market this summer, although both organizations also have highly regarded outfield prospects of their own that are in reasonable proximity to the Majors (namely, David Dahl in Colorado and Brett Phillips in Milwaukee).

Hernandez would almost certainly require some time in the minors to get comfortable in a game setting once again, whenever and wherever he ultimately chooses to sign. His last full season in Cuba came in 2014-15 (their season is played in the winter), so it’d be understandable if Hernandez came with a fair bit of rust. Those wishing to get a lengthier look at Hernandez can reference a full scouting report from Badler’s Top 20 Cuban prospects last season. A subscription is required, though with the 2016 Draft and the July 2 international free agent kickoff both looming, it’s well worth the price of admission for those seeking insight into the upcoming waves of amateur talent that will soon be available to MLB clubs.

International Notes: Hernandez, Bell, Package Signings

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Cuban outfielder Yadiel Hernandez will host a showcase for clubs on May 18, MLBTR has learned. The 28-year-old corner outfielder held a showcase back in February that was reportedly attended by as many as 25 Major League teams but hasn’t held a large-scale workout for clubs since being declared a free agent by MLB on April 21. Hernandez’s age and professional experience in Cuba make him exempt from international spending pools. He’s a left-handed hitter with excellent plate discipline and a knack for contact, and Baseball America’s Ben Badler has previously opined that Hernandez has a chance at hitting 10 to 15 homers over the course of a big league season. He’s a career .324/.449/.487 hitter in 514 pro games in Cuba.

A couple more notes pertaining to the international market…

  • Hernandez’s countryman, Alexei Bell, will play for the Mexican League’s Quintana Roo Tigres while he waits for the league to declare him a free agent, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. Playing in Mexico will allow the 32-year-old outfielder to be seen by big league scouts, though scouts have had a couple of looks at him in recent months. FOX’s Ken Rosenthal reported that 13 clubs watched Bell back in February, and Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith recently reported that Bell would work out for scouts this month as well. That most recent showcase, it should be noted, was yesterday, though word hasn’t crept out about the results just yet. Bell is a .319/.417/.547 hitter in 659 pro games in Cuba.
  • In the wake of reports of MLB’s investigation into the Red Sox’ international signings, Baseball America’s Ben Badler writes that “package deals” have been commonplace on the international market for years. It’s not uncommon at all, Badler writes, for a team that is hoping to sign a player of interest to sign a close friend or sibling of that player for a lesser price as a means of enticing the player they truly covet to sign. Teams will also agree to sign lesser players from the same trainer/agency if signing the lesser-regarded player can help to persuade the trainer/agent to sign off on an offer for the more highly regarded talent. While there is certainly the possibility for nefarious activity to take place as a result of package signings, Badler notes, such arrangements aren’t new and have been receiving league approval since even before the current international bonus pool system was implemented in 2012. Badler lists a number of package signing situations in the past, citing players from the Reds, Dodgers, Rangers and Pirates that signed under various types of package scenarios. Of course, the instances listed by Badler weren’t attempts to circumvent league-imposed spending limitations, and it seems there’s at least a belief that the Red Sox acted in such a manner, thus leading to the ongoing investigation. Those that are intrigued by the Sox’ situation or the international market in a more general sense will find Badler’s latest column intriguing.

Cuban Outfielder Yadiel Hernandez Declared Free Agent

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Cuban outfielder Yadiel Hernandez, who defected from the island late last June, has been declared a free agent by Major League Baseball today, reports Baseball America’s Ben Badler. The 28-year-old corner fielder had a showcase back in February that reportedly drew scouts from 25 teams.

Because Hernandez is older than 23 and has more than five years of professional experience in Cuba, he’s exempt from international signing bonuses and free to sign a Major League contract for any amount. A career .324/.449/.487 batter in Cuba, Hernandez has enough pop in his bat to hit 10 to 15 homers in a season, Badler writes, but the left-handed hitter’s on-base skills are a likelier source of value to big league teams. Indeed, Hernandez walked at an exceptional 17.5 percent clip throughout his career in Cuba, and his 380 walks drawn in those six seasons dwarf his 285 strikeouts.

Unlike many international free agents, Hernandez could conceivably help a big league club in short order, but it’s also important to note that he hasn’t played regularly in a game setting since the 2014-15 season in Cuba’s Serie Nacional. As such, it seems likely that he’d require some time in the minor leagues if for no other reason than to get up to speed and get some reps at the plate and in the field.

Badler adds that since his open showcase in late February, Hernandez has been hosting private workouts for interested clubs. He’s a client of Rep 1 Baseball.

International Notes: Gurriels, Lazarito, Manfred, Dodgers

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The Gurriel brothers’ defection from Cuba surprised many pundits, though as Baseball America’s Ben Badler writes, there had been hints over the last year that something was afoot with the duo, particularly Yulieski Gurriel.  The elder brother hasn’t always been known for playing hard, but Yulieski had been noticeably hustling more over the past year, perhaps in a deliberate effort to correct this perception in the eyes of MLB scouts.  Yulieski also passed on a lucrative offer to play in Japan for the rather curious reason of wanting to rehab a hamstring injury, which raised some eyebrows.  Badler notes that in the wake of the Gurriels’ departure, the Dominican government is cracking down on Cuban players in the country, with a couple of prospects already sent back to Cuba and others leaving the Dominican to establish residency in the Bahamas.  Cubans still remaining in the Dominican Republic are now playing on well-maintained but secretive baseball diamonds, just adding to the overall clandestine atmosphere.

Here’s more recent news from around the international market…

  • The shocking circumstances behind Charles Hairston and Agency39 dropping their representation of Lazaro “Lazarito” Armenteros is still the talk of the international scouting world, and Hairston shared more details with MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez.  The mysterious “buscon” (or “investor” as he’s known in Sanchez’s piece) allegedly threatened Hairston ten days ago,  and had also been working behind Agency39’s back to negotiate with teams and other agencies to arrange new representation for Armenteros.  Agency39 was still working on Lazarito’s behalf as late as noon yesterday.
  • Commissioner Rob Manfred reiterated his support for an international talent draft when speaking to reporters (including Jesse Sanchez) on Monday, indicating that changes to the international system will be a significant topic in upcoming collective bargaining negotiations with the players’ union.  These talks will be particularly interesting since the desire for altering international signing rules may vary greatly from team to team.  “If you ask the teams that have been able to spend internationally, they would be happy with how [the system] is,” Athletics GM David Forst said. “There are also some teams that feel you lose some of the scouting side of it if you have the [international draft].  You lose the ability to unearth players.  But with the information that is out there, I’m not sure that happens.”
  • Twenty-five teams attended a showcase yesterday for Cuban outfielder Yadiel Hernandez and infielders Yanio Perez and Alejandro Rivero, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez tweets.  Hernandez, who defected last summer, is the most highly-regarded of the trio and is old enough (28) to not be subject to the international pool limits.
  • The Dodgers have spent over $200MM on nine Cuban players over the last four years, a major investment that Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register notes that thus far yielded relatively little return.  Yasiel Puig has delivered both all-world talent and controversy in his time with the team and Hector Olivera was flipped to the Braves, while Erisbel Arruebarrena and Alex Guerrero are now afterthoughts.  “I think like any part of the talent universe there’s going to be mixed results,” said senior baseball operations VP Josh Byrnes, who also noted that the Dodgers’ big investment is still less than it would’ve cost for a similar outlay on free agent talent.  The club obviously still expects much from highly-regarded prospects still in the system, including the recently-signed Yaisel Sierra.
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