Yadiel

Hernandez

Hernandez was removed from the Nationals’ 40-man roster last November and the organization has decided to part ways with him after just 10 games this season at Triple-A Rochester. The 35-year-old outfielder batted .267/.315/.412 with 19 homers and five steals in 218 games with the Nationals over a three-year period dating back to 2020.

Hernandez went unclaimed on waivers and has been removed from the Nationals’ 40-man roster to make room for several of the club’s minor league prospects that need to be protected from next month’s Rule 5 Draft.

Hernandez is done for the remainder of the regular season due to a left calf strain. The procedural move opens up a spot on the Nationals’ 40-man roster.

Hernández last played on Thursday but had been losing playing time to Joey Meneses and Joey Call recently. He is eligible to return to the active lineup in early September but it seems that the Nationals are pritorizing playing time for other players.

Hernandez finally got the Nationals on the board with his mammoth 402-foot shot off of Padres right-hander Yu Darvish in the sixth inning, pulling the Nationals to within a run at 3-2. He finished the night 1-for-3 and is now hitting .268/.312/.414 with nine homers and 40 RBI on the season.

Hernández is a platoon player without much defensive ability in left field, so his value is pretty limited. Still, the Nationals are content with him continuing to play about 70% of the time. He’s hitting .269/.312/.420 with 34 RBI in 263 plate appearances.

The 34-year-old outfielder hit a 413-foot solo home run towards right-center field to leadoff the top of the seventh. He has a solid .277 batting average with six home runs and two stolen bases over 220 at-bats.

With Juan Soto standing on second base in the top of the fourth, Hernandez smacked a 103.4-mph, 353-foot RBI double to right field -- the first run of the game for the Nationals. The 34-year-old has a .276/.319/.419 slash with five home runs and two stolen bases across 226 plate appearances.

One day after coming off the bench to drive in the go-ahead runs, Hernández started in left field Wednesday and had another nice day. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as Bryan Reynolds and the Pirates outslugged the Nationals.

Hernández saw just two pitches on the night, ripping a Wil Crowe changeup over the right fielder’s head with two outs to cash in a pair of runs. It’s a much-needed big hit for Hernández, who has really struggled in June.