Braves bring back Elieser Hernández from Triple-A

Hernández returns to fortify Atlanta’s long relief depth for the home stretch after passing through waivers unclaimed earlier this week. The 31-year-old journeyman has allowed one run over six innings during a pair of relief appearances for the Braves this season.

Hernández has performed admirably, allowing one run over six innings across a pair of relief appearances for Atlanta over the past two weeks. The 31-year-old figures to remain with the organization to await his next opportunity, assuming that he clears waivers.

There’s a chance Hernández decides to stick around as emergency organizational depth after tossing three scoreless innings against the Orioles last Friday. The well-traveled 31-year-old has the option to elect free agency after passing through waivers unclaimed, but his clearest path to another big-league opportunity is probably with Atlanta.

Hernández was jettisoned from Atlanta’s bullpen after tossing three scoreless innings in relief against the Orioles on Friday. The 31-year-old journeyman former starter should clear waivers and figures to remain with the organization as emergency depth.

The 31-year-old right-hander will add a fresh arm to the team’s bullpen for at least a few days. Hernández has made 20 appearances (11 starts) at Triple-A Gwinnett this season, registering a 4.83 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and a 72/27 K/BB ratio across 76 1/3 innings. Owen Murphy was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move on Sunday.

The latest batch of cuts trims Atlanta’s spring training roster to 50 players. Carrasco is one of the highest-profile non-roster invitees in Braves camp this spring as he attempts to make it back to the big leagues for a 17th season since 2009. He figures to gobble up low-leverage innings at some point in the year. The same goes for Hernández and Karinchak, who were notable pitchers earlier this decade.

Hernández’s return last summer after a year in Korea didn’t result in any fanfare, but he’s currently sporting a little more velocity than ever before — he averaged 92.6 mph with his fastball and 92.9 mph with his sinker today — and he’s always had quality secondary stuff. He’s probably not going to break camp as the Braves’ fifth starter, since he’s on a minor league deal and the team has several out-of-options arms in the mix — but he might eventually prove useful to the Braves if the velocity sticks around.

Hernández represents an interesting low-risk gamble for Atlanta heading into next season. The 30-year-old righty, who holds a pedestrian 5.10 ERA across 303 1/3 innings over 99 appearances (49 starts) in the majors since 2018, finished last season in Toronto’s system after two seasons pitching overseas for the LG Twins in Korea.

Hernández is back stateside after spending the majority of the last two seasons overseas pitching for the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization. The 30-year-old righty holds a serviceable 5.10 ERA across 303 1/3 innings (99 appearances, 49 starts) in the majors dating back to 2018. He’ll function as emergency pitching depth for Toronto at Triple-A Buffalo.

Hernandez, who is set to earn $1.3 million on his new deal, returns for another stint overseas in Korea after tossing 11 scoreless innings over two postseason series for the LG Twins after making 11 appearances (nine starts) to close out the KBO regular season. The 29-year-old righty made nine appearances (one start) last season between the Dodgers and Brewers before heading to Korea.