The Los Angeles Dodgers have added right-handed reliever Jonathan Hernández on a major league contract, bringing a power arm into a bullpen that has carried a heavy workload. The move came after Hernández opted out of a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, giving Los Angeles a low-risk chance to improve its late-game options.
Hernández offers the kind of raw stuff the Dodgers often target. He has not pitched in the majors since 2024, but his velocity and pitch movement still make him an intriguing bet for a club known for helping relievers sharpen their mechanics.
A baseball life shaped by movement
Hernández’s path into the game began before he could remember it. He was born in Memphis while his father, Fernando Hernández, was pitching in the San Diego Padres’ Double-A system, and baseball quickly became part of his family’s daily life.
Fernando Hernández spent 14 years in professional baseball and built a career that stretched across several leagues and countries. He made two major league relief appearances for the Detroit Tigers in 1997 and later found success overseas, including a strong run with the SK Wyverns in South Korea’s KBO League in 2001 and 2002.
As a child, Jonathan moved from one minor league town to another while following his father’s career. After the family returned to the Dominican Republic, he first wanted to play shortstop, but his father saw more in his arm and pushed him toward pitching when he was 12.
From Texas prospect to late-inning weapon
Jonathan Hernández signed with the Texas Rangers in 2013 and eventually developed into a high-leverage reliever. He broke through most clearly during the shortened 2020 season, when he posted a 2.90 ERA over 31 innings and emerged as a trusted late-inning option.
His success came from a power mix built around a 98–99 mph sinker and a sharp slider. That combination gave hitters a difficult look, especially when he located the sinker low in the zone and used the slider as a finishing pitch.
Tommy John surgery in April 2021 interrupted that rise. Hernández returned with a strong 2.97 ERA in the second half of 2022, but his command never fully stabilized and his results slipped across 2023 and 2024.
Why Los Angeles saw a fit
The Dodgers have built a reputation for helping pitchers maximize raw traits, and Hernández matches that model. His sinker-slider pairing still gives him an elite foundation, even after a rocky stretch that included a 5.40 ERA over 62 major league appearances across the Mariners, Rays, and Phillies organizations.
Philadelphia kept him in Triple-A Lehigh Valley for part of an early-season stretch in which he struck out 22 batters in 15 innings, though a 4.80 ERA kept him from earning a call-up. The Dodgers appear willing to bet that small mechanical changes can improve his release consistency and restore better command.
That approach fits a bullpen need as much as a player profile. With injuries affecting the active roster, Los Angeles needed another arm capable of handling stressful innings without a major acquisition cost.
Early signs of a rebound
Hernández has already been used in the Dodgers’ bullpen mix, and the initial results have been encouraging. He has worked scoreless innings and struck out three batters in his first high-leverage outings in Dodger Blue.
The organization’s hope is straightforward: if it can recreate the version of Hernández that dominated in 2020, the club could gain a reliable bridge to the closer with very little risk attached. For a pitcher whose career has already crossed continents, organizations, and setbacks, the Dodgers are betting that their pitching development system can finally turn elite velocity into durable results.
Read more at: dodgersbeat.com
