The Philadelphia Phillies have been on a roll in recent weeks, and it’s mostly been due to spectacular pitching. The big league staff has been nails lately, but the club lost an important depth piece when right-hander Jonathan Hernández signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers this week.
Hernández signed with the Texas Rangers as an amateur free agent way back in 2013, and made his major league debut with Texas six years later. The son of former big leaguer Fernando Hernández made his way into 124 games with the Rangers over parts of five seasons, working to a decent 4.18 ERA across 150 ⅔ frames. The Tennessee-born hurler was claimed off of waivers by the Seattle Mariners towards the end of the 2024 season and was shelled in a three-game stint in the Pacific Northwest.
After spending all of 2025 in Triple-A with the Tampa Bay Rays, the Phils scooped Hernández up on a minor league pact this past December and stashed him in Lehigh Valley as bullpen depth. The 29-year-old appeared in 13 games for the IronPigs, firing 15 innings of 4.80 ERA ball while punching out 22 batters.
Former Phillies pitcher Jonathan Hernández could help Dodgers amid injury avalanche
Hernández may not be the sexiest name in the Phillies’ system, but an experienced reliever with strikeout stuff is a nice fallback option to have in case some of the big league hurlers go down with injuries. Unfortunately, Hernández had an opt-out clause in his contract that allowed him to hit free agency if he wasn’t on the Phillies’ major league roster.
The Dodgers signed RHP Jonathan Hernández, per @FabianArdaya
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) May 18, 2026
He hasn't pitched in MLB since 2024. He has a career 4.29 ERA with 150 strikeouts over 153 innings.
In Triple-A this year, he has a 4.80 ERA with 22 strikeouts over 15 innings.
He just opted out of his Phillies deal. pic.twitter.com/jJD8n50peU
That’s exactly what he did this week, and the twice-reigning champion Dodgers shrewdly reeled him in. Now Hernández has a spot in the Dodgers’ pen and they’ll likely squeeze some extra juice out of him like they’ve done with so many other players.
Phillies fans should be comforted by the fact that Hernández was boxed out of the major league roster by a pair of lottery ticket arms that the team has struck gold on this past offseason. Veteran southpaw Tim Mayza has posted a rock solid 3.47 ERA in 23 ⅓ innings, while Chase Shugart has an impressive 1.72 mark over 15 ⅔ frames.
It's just unfortunate the Dodgers could benefit here, since they deserve nothing.
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