Yadiel Hernández (born October 9, 1987) is a

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

for the

Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos The Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos (English: Two Laredos Owls), formerly known as the Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo (English: Nuevo Laredo Owls), are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The Tecolotes are a binational baseball team, spli ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. After playing in the

Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series (, or SNB) is a domestic baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the National Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. For most ...

for Cocodrilos de Matanzas, he played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

Career

Cuban National Series

Hernández began his baseball career with the Cocodrilos in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. After hitting .369 for Matanzas in the 2014–15 Cuban National Series, Hernández

defected In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at age 28 along with Cuban national teammate Luis Yander La O in June 2015, while they were in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

for a game against American college baseball players. Hernández was declared eligible to sign with a

team in April 2016.

Washington Nationals

On October 1, 2016, the

, not usually a major player for Cuban talent, signed him to a minor league deal with a $200,000 signing bonus. After playing for the Double-A

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field on Cit ...

in 2017 and 2018, Hernández was promoted to Triple-A. In 149 combined games for Harrisburg, Hernández hit .297/.389/.461 with 19 home runs and 81 RBI. He hit his first professional grand slam on May 9, 2019, for the

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. Along with teammate Dakota Bacus, he represented Fresno in the 2019 Triple-A All-Star Game. He finished the year hitting .324/.406/.604 with 33 home runs, 90 RBI, and 7 stolen bases in 126 games for Fresno. At age 32, Hernández was called up to the major leagues for the first time on September 10, 2020, after Nationals infielder Howie Kendrick was placed on the injured list. He made his major league debut that day against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. He played in 12 games during his rookie campaign, going 5-for-26 with one home run and 6 RBI. In 2021, he batted .273/.329/.413 with 9 home runs and 32 RBI in 112 games. He had the slowest sprint speed of all major league left fielders, at 25.3 feet/second. In 2022, Hernández appeared in 94 games for Washington, batting .269/.312/.410 with 9 home runs and 41 RBI. His season ended early on August 27, when he was placed on the injured list with a left calf strain. Hernández was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to Triple-A on November 15, 2022. Hernández began the 2023 season with the Triple-A

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

, playing in 10 games and hitting .205/.225/.256 with no home runs and 4 RBI. On April 17, 2023, Hernández was released by the Nationals organization.

Sultanes de Monterrey

On May 5, 2023, Hernández signed with the

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey (English: Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball club in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Monterrey, Mexico. Established in 1939 as Carta Blanca, the Sultanes have won ten LMB titles, most recently in 2018. Fro ...

of the

. In 64 games for the Sultanes, he hit .281/.344/.404 with 6 home runs and 39 RBI. On February 26, 2024, Hernández was released by Monterrey.

Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos

On March 5, 2024, Hernández signed with the

of the

. In an April 23 game against the Rieleros de Aguascalientes, Hernández

hit for the cycle Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization ...

as the Tecolotes won 11–3. In 93 appearances for Dos Laredos, he batted .300/.391/.479 with 14 home runs and 70 RBI.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hernández, Yadiel 1987 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Baseball players from Matanzas Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players Cocodrilos de Matanzas players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Mexico Cuban expatriate baseball players in Puerto Rico Cuban expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Defecting Cuban baseball players Estrellas Orientales players Fresno Grizzlies players Harrisburg Senators players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente outfielders Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Cuba Naranjeros de Hermosillo players Rochester Red Wings players Sultanes de Monterrey players Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos players Washington Nationals players