TODAY: Hernandez cleared waivers and was transferred to Triple-A, the Mariners announced.
8 AUGUST: The Mariners announced a quartet of roster moves tonight, including news for the right-hander Jonathan Hernandez selected for assignment. Striker Jason Vosler was also optioned to Triple-A Tacoma, while playing in the outfield Dominic Canzone he was put back on the 10-day disabled list and is fine Eduard Bazardo he was called up to Triple-A.
Hernandez is making the DFA call for the second time in a little over a week, as the Rangers’ decision to designate a reliever led to the Mariners making a waiver claim. Hernandez has already made three appearances in a Seattle uniform, but after pitching a scoreless inning in his first start, he was charged with three earned runs in one third of an inning in the Mariners’ 6-2 loss to the Tigers yesterday.
Because Hernandez is out of the minor league roster, the M’s had to designate him and therefore also claim him off waivers to bring Bazardo’s new arm into the bullpen mix. If he clears waivers and is removed from Seattle’s 40-man roster, Hernandez has not yet had enough MLB service time to decline the assignment due to free agency, and he has never been left out during his career.
Over a combined 43 1/3 innings with Texas and Seattle this season, Hernandez has a 5.40 ERA, a 20.3% strikeout rate, and a 14.6% negative walk rate. The latter number is one of the worst walk rates of any pitcher in baseball, underscoring the control issues that marked much of Hernandez’s five-game season in the major leagues. He was able to keep things in check long enough to post a 2.93 ERA over 61 1/3 innings for the Rangers in the 2020 and 2022 seasons, with the 2021 campaign completely wiped out while Hernandez recovered from Tommy John surgery.
While the 2023 season was also an outright struggle, Hernandez’s 2022 success is recent enough that another team in need of bullpen help could be willing to file a waiver claim and bet on a turnaround. Hernandez turned 28 last month, and is still subject to arbitration through the 2026 season. He’s making $1.245MM in salary this year, Hernandez has about $363K left over, and the new team will only be owed a split portion of MLB’s standard salary. The Mariners also paid only the average split rate during Hernandez’s short time on the active roster, as the Rangers covered most of the rest of the money.
Canzone last played on July 9, so he’s back after nearly a month recovering from a right hamstring injury. Between that absence and a previous IL stint due to an AC joint sprain, Canzone was limited to 54 games and 159 plate appearances this season, hitting .211/.289/.394 with seven homers. Canzone’s lefty belt can come off the bench to help balance the Mariners’ often right-leaning side, and he’s a solid defender in all three outfield positions.
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