Oscar Eduardo Hernández Rios (born July 9, 1993) is a Venezuelan

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

who is a free agent. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. Listed at and , he throws and bats right-handed.

Career

Tampa Bay Rays

Hernández signed with the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

as an international free agent in 2009. He made his professional debut with the Venezuelan Summer League Rays in 2010. In 2011, Hernández returned to the VSL Rays, slashing a torrid .402/.503/.732 with 21 home runs and 66 RBI in 69 games with the team. He was promoted to the Rookie-level

Princeton Rays The Princeton Rays were a Minor League Baseball team in Princeton, West Virginia, operating as an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League. The team was affiliated with several Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises, primarily the Tam ...

in 2012, where he hit .231/.349/.394 with 5 home runs and 24 RBI. He split the 2013 season between the Low-A

Hudson Valley Renegades Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson ...

and the Single-A

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which open ...

, accumulating a .227/.286/.364 slash line in 46 games between the two teams. He returned to Bowling Green for the 2014 season, posting a .249/.301/.401 slash line with 9 home runs and 63 RBI.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Hernández was selected by the

from the Rays with the first overall pick in the 2014 Rule 5 draft. Hernández began the 2015 season on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

after breaking a bone in his left hand. He had a rehabilitation assignment in June with the Triple-A

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, which opened in 2009. ...

and the Single-A

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their ho ...

, then was activated to the Diamondbacks' MLB roster on July 4. Hernández made his MLB debut on July 12, 2015, and appeared in 31 games for the 2015 Diamondbacks, batting .161/.257/.194. In 2016, he appeared in four MLB games with Arizona, batting .182 with one home run, which came on August 10 off of

Jerry Blevins Jerry Richard Blevins (born September 6, 1983), nicknamed Gordo (Spanish for "fat"), is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Blevins was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 17th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft, and made ...

, helping the Diamondbacks defeat the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, 3−2, at

Citi Field Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the home field of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement for the adjacent ...

in 12 innings. His bulk of work in 2016 came in Double-A with the

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

and in High-A with the

Visalia Rawhide The Visalia Rawhide are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Visalia, California, and have played their home games at Valley Strong Ballpark since their ...

. He was assigned to the Double-A

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (1964–2020), Southern League (SL) as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliat ...

to begin the 2017 season. On June 23, 2017, Hernández was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Diamondbacks, removing him from their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

. He was outrighted to Jackson on June 27, and remained in Double-A to finish the year, logging a

slash line S sabermetrics :Sabermetrics is the analysis of baseball through objective evidence, especially baseball statistics. The term is derived from the SABR – the Society for American Baseball Research. The term was coined by Bill James, an ...

of .197/.263/.352. He elected free agency following the season on November 6.

Boston Red Sox

On January 8, 2018, Hernández signed a minor league contract with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

organization. On March 23, 2018, he was suspended 50 games without pay, following a second positive test for a drug of abuse, in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. He was activated from the restricted list at the end of May, and was assigned to the Triple-A

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

where he batted .205 with one home run and 14 RBIs in 47 games. Hernández started the 2019 season with the Double-A

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red ...

, then was assigned to Triple-A Pawtucket in late April. He was selected to Boston's active MLB roster on May 17, when Sandy León was placed on the paternity list. Hernández was returned to Pawtucket on May 20, without making an appearance with Boston. For the 2019 MLB London Series at the end of June, Hernández traveled to London with the Red Sox as an extra player not on the active roster, in case of injury. He was designated for assignment by the Red Sox on July 2, in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for

Trevor Kelley Trevor Michael Kelley (born October 20, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay ...

. The team sent Hernández outright to Pawtucket the next day. Overall with Portland and Pawtucket in 2019, Hernández appeared in 54 minor league games, batting .192 with six home runs and 21 RBIs. He elected free agency on October 1.

St. Louis Cardinals

On January 7, 2020, Hernández signed a minor league deal with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

organization. On May 27, Hernández was released by the Cardinals.

Kansas City Royals

On July 9, 2020, Hernandez signed a minor league contract with the

. On July 23, 2020, Hernandez was selected to the 40-man and active rosters. He was designated for assignment on August 2 after going 2-for-4 in 4 games with the Royals and outrighted on August 5. On October 15, 2020, Hernandez elected free agency.

Toros de Tijuana

On June 24, 2021, Hernández signed with the

Toros de Tijuana The Toros de Tijuana (or Tijuana Bulls) are a Mexican Baseball team based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. They are members of the Mexican Baseball League and play their home games at Estadio Chevron. Team history Original Attempt The fran ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. Hernández hit .244/.279/.366 with 1 home run and 4 RBI in 14 games with Tijuana before he was released on July 20.

Trois-Rivières Aigles

On January 11, 2023, Hernández signed with the

Trois-Rivières Aigles The Aigles de Trois-Rivières (English: ''Three Rivers Eagles'') were a Canadian Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds from 1971 to 1977. They were located in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, ...

of the

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

. In 22 games for the Aigles, he batted .242/.329/.333 with 1 home run and 5 RBI. On August 4, Hernández was released by Trois-Rivières.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Oscar 1993 births Living people Arizona Diamondbacks players Bowling Green Hot Rods players Hudson Valley Renegades players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players Kane County Cougars players Kansas City Royals players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Mobile BayBears players People from Falcón Pawtucket Red Sox players Portland Sea Dogs players Princeton Rays players Reno Aces players Salt River Rafters players Baseball players suspended for drug offenses Trois-Rivières Aigles players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Venezuelan Summer League Rays players Visalia Rawhide players