Ronaldo José Hernández (born November 11, 1997) is a Colombian

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 ...

in 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 ...

organization. He is currently a

phantom ballplayer A phantom ballplayer is either a baseball player who is incorrectly listed in source materials as playing in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game, often the result of typographical or clerical errors, or a player who spent time on an MLB Major Leag ...

, having spent multiple stints on the active roster of 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 ...

without making an appearance. 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 on August 9, 2014. He made his professional debut in 2015 with the

Dominican Summer League Rays The Dominican Summer League Rays or DSL Rays are a Rookie League affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays based in the Dominican Republic. They play in the Dominican Summer League. As an independent affiliate, they have been in existence since 1997. Histo ...

, recording a .227

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

in 13 games. He played 2016 with the

, slashing .340/.406/.485 with 6

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and 35

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBIs) in 54 games, and 2017 with the

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 ...

, hitting .332 with 5 home runs and 40 RBIs in 54 games. Hernández played in 2018 with the

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 ...

where he slashed .284/.339/.494 with 21 home runs and 79 RBIs in 109 games. After the season, he played in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

for the

Peoria Javelinas The Peoria Javelinas are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. The Javelinas play their home games in the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility for the Sa ...

. He spent 2019 with the

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

, slashing .265/.299/.397 with 9 home runs and 60 RBI in 103 games. Hernández was named to the 2019

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League ...

. He played for the

Salt River Rafters The Salt River Rafters are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick near Scottsdale, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility o ...

in the Arizona Fall League following the 2019 season. On November 20, 2019, the Rays added Hernández to 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 ...

to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Boston Red Sox

On February 17, 2021, the Rays traded Hernández and Nick Sogard to the

in exchange for

Chris Mazza Christopher James Mazza (born October 17, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays. Listed at and , he throws a ...

and

Jeffrey Springs Jeffrey Scott Springs (born September 20, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox. Career Sp ...

. Hernández began the 2021 season in Double-A with the

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 ...

and was promoted late in the season to the Triple-A

Worcester Red Sox The Worcester Red Sox (nicknamed the WooSox) are a professional minor league baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Beginning play in 2021, the team is the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, succeeding the Pawt ...

; in 99 total games, be batted a combined .284 with 16 home runs and 58 RBIs. Hernández began the 2022 season with Worcester. He was selected to Boston's active roster on April 19, after both Christian Vázquez and

Kevin Plawecki Kevin Jeffrey Plawecki (; born February 26, 1991) is an American professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox and Texas Ranger ...

were placed on the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

injured list, then returned to Worcester the following day, when Vázquez was reactivated. The Red Sox again added Hernández to their major-league roster for one game, on August 1, following the trade of Vázquez and prior to catcher

Reese McGuire Reese Jackson McGuire (born March 2, 1995) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago White Sox. McGuire was drafted b ...

joining the team. Hernández spending time on Boston's active roster without yet appearing in a major-league game made him an example of a

. In 105 games for Worcester, he hit .261/.298/.451 with 17 home runs and 63 RBI. On December 2, Hernández was removed from the 40-man roster, and sent outright to Triple–A. Hernández spent the 2023 season back in Worcester, playing in 99 games and batting .242/.336/.445 with 17 home runs and 70 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2023.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On December 20, 2023, Hernández signed a minor league contract with the

.https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/diamondbacks-ronaldo-hernandez-agree-to-minor-league-contract.html

References

External links

SoxProspects scouting report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hernández, Ronaldo Living people 1997 births Major League Baseball players from Colombia Major League Baseball catchers Bowling Green Hot Rods players Dominican Summer League Rays players Peoria Javelinas players Portland Sea Dogs players Princeton Rays players Salt River Rafters players Toros del Este players Worcester Red Sox players