Jonathan Hernández accepted his outright assignment and reported to Triple-A Oklahoma City on July 5, a day after the Dodgers moved him off their active roster and sent him there after he cleared waivers. The right-hander, 29, had spent about six weeks with the club before the roster squeeze pushed him out of the bullpen picture.
It is the kind of move that makes sense on paper and still says plenty about where a pitcher stands. Hernández was out of options, so the Dodgers could not simply stash him and keep the roster intact. Once he was designated for assignment earlier in the week, the club had to expose him to waivers, and the other 29 clubs passed. That left him with a choice: accept the outright and stay in the system, or take his chances on free agency.
He chose the first path. That matters because the right-hander still has a way back, and the numbers explain why the Dodgers were willing to keep the door open. In 17 2/3 innings over 12 appearances, he allowed 8.15 earned runs per nine with a 59.1% strand rate, an 18.1% strikeout rate, a 14.5% walk rate and a 39.3% ground ball rate. His 6.40 FIP and 5.13 SIERA matched the recent stat line: too much traffic, too many baserunners, not enough missed bats.
That is also why the story is not as simple as a bad month ending a brief stay. Hernández was averaging around 97 miles per hour with his four-seamer and sinker this year, and he also mixed in a slider and a changeup. The raw stuff remains more attractive than the results, which is the same reason he has kept getting chances. He missed 2021 while rehabbing Tommy John surgery, posted a 2.93 ERA across the 2020 and 2022 seasons in 61 1/3 combined innings, and then settled at a 5.40 ERA in both 2023 and 2024. He signed a minor league deal with the Rays for 2025 and spent most of that season on the minor league injured list.
The question now is narrower than it was two days ago. Hernández has the right to elect free agency because he has at least three years of service time or a previous career outright, but it is not yet clear whether he will use that right. For the Dodgers, the move clears a roster spot. For Hernández, it buys time. The next step is his choice, and this time the club has already made its own.
