Yadiel Hernández

Yadiel Hernández (born October 9, 1987) is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder for the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League. After playing in the Cuban National Series for Cocodrilos de Matanzas, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals.

Yadiel Hernández
Hernández with the Washington Nationals in 2021
Sultanes de Monterrey – No. 6
Outfielder
Born: (1987-10-09) October 9, 1987
Matanzas, Cuba
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 10, 2020, for the Washington Nationals
MLB statistics
(through 2022 season)
Batting average.267
Home runs19
Runs batted in79
Teams

Career

Cuban National Series

Hernández began his baseball career with the Cocodrilos in 2009.[1] After hitting .369 for Matanzas in the 2014–15 Cuban National Series, Hernández defected to the United States at age 28 along with Cuban national teammate Luis Yander La O in June 2015,[1] while they were in North Carolina for a game against American college baseball players.[2] Hernández was declared eligible to sign with a Major League Baseball team in April 2016.[3]

Washington Nationals

On October 1, 2016, the Washington Nationals, not usually a major player for Cuban talent, signed him to a minor league deal with a $200,000 signing bonus.[4]

After playing for the Double-A Harrisburg Senators in 2017 and 2018, Hernández was promoted to Triple-A. In 149 combined games for Harrisburg, Hernández hit .297/.389/.461 with 19 home runs and 81 RBI. He hit his first professional grand slam on May 9, 2019, for the Fresno Grizzlies of the Pacific Coast League.[5] Along with teammate Dakota Bacus, he represented Fresno in the 2019 Triple-A All-Star Game.[6] He finished the year hitting .324/.406/.604 with 33 home runs, 90 RBI, and 7 stolen bases in 126 games for Fresno.

At age 32, Hernández was called up to the major leagues for the first time on September 10, 2020, after Nationals infielder Howie Kendrick was placed on the injured list.[7] He made his major league debut that day against the Atlanta Braves. He played in 12 games during his rookie campaign, going 5-for-26 with one home run and 6 RBI.

In 2021, he batted .273/.329/.413 with 9 home runs and 32 RBI in 112 games. He had the slowest sprint speed of all major league left fielders, at 25.3 feet/second.[8] In 2022, Hernández appeared in 94 games for Washington, batting .269/.312/.410 with 9 home runs and 41 RBI. His season ended early on August 27, when he was placed on the injured list with a left calf strain.[9] Hernández was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to Triple-A on November 15, 2022.

Hernández began the 2023 season with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings, playing in 10 games and hitting .205/.225/.256 with no home runs and 4 RBI. On April 17, 2023, Hernández was released by the Nationals organization.[10]

Sultanes de Monterrey

On May 5, 2023, Hernández signed with the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League.[11]

References
  1. "Tres prospectos cubanos esperan ser llamados por Grandes Ligas". Radio Televisión Martí. August 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  2. "2 Cuban baseball players defect during U.S. trip". CBS News. July 3, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  3. Todd, Jeff (September 21, 2016). "Nationals To Sign Cuban Outfielder Yadiel Hernandez". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  4. Janes, Chelsea (October 26, 2016). "An unusual international signing: Yadiel Hernandez". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  5. Romero, Francys (May 10, 2019). "Cubanos en Las Menores: Yadiel Hernández y la decepcionante gerencia de los Nacionales". CiberCuba. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  6. "Two Grizzlies named to Triple-A All-Star team". Hanford Sentinel. June 28, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  7. @dougherty_jesse (10 September 2020). "The Nationals have added Yadiel Hernandez in Howie Kendrick's place. Hernandez has a great story coming from Cuba a…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. "Statcast Sprint Speed Leaderboard". baseballsavant.com.
  9. "Nationals' Yadiel Hernandez: Done for season". cbssports.com. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  10. https://www.milb.com/transactions/2023-04-17
  11. "YADIEL HERNÁNDEZ REFORZARÁ EL OUTFIELD DE SULTANES". sultanes.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved May 5, 2023.
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