The Phillies have been one of baseball’s hottest teams in recent weeks thanks largely to dominant pitching, but they quietly lost an intriguing bullpen depth arm when right-hander Jonathan Hernández signed with the Dodgers after opting out of his minor league deal.
Hernández originally signed with the Texas Rangers as an international free agent in 2013 and eventually developed into a useful bullpen piece at the major league level. Across parts of five seasons with Texas, the hard-throwing reliever appeared in 124 games while posting a respectable 4.18 ERA over 150 2/3 innings. He later spent a brief stretch with the Seattle Mariners before bouncing around in Triple-A.
After spending the entire 2025 campaign in the minors with the Tampa Bay Rays organization, Hernández signed a minor league contract with Philadelphia this past offseason. The Phillies assigned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he struck out 22 batters in 15 innings across 13 appearances.
Although his 4.80 ERA was not eye-catching, Hernández still offered something valuable: experienced bullpen depth with swing-and-miss stuff. For a Phillies team with postseason ambitions, that type of arm can become extremely important over a long season filled with injuries and bullpen fatigue.
However, Hernández included an opt-out clause in his contract, allowing him to explore free agency if Philadelphia did not promote him to the major league roster. With the Phillies already finding success from under-the-radar bullpen additions like Tim Mayza and Chase Shugart, there simply was not a clear path to innings for Hernández.
That opened the door for the Dodgers.
Los Angeles has dealt with a growing list of pitching injuries this season and continues searching for reliable bullpen reinforcements. Hernández may not be a headline-grabbing acquisition, but the Dodgers have repeatedly shown an ability to maximize overlooked pitching talent. Their player development and analytics systems have transformed numerous reclamation projects into productive contributors over the past several years.
For the Dodgers, Hernández represents a low-risk addition with upside. His fastball velocity and strikeout ability still make him an intriguing bullpen option, especially for an organization confident in its ability to refine mechanics and pitch usage.
Meanwhile, Phillies fans may not feel devastated by the loss given the team’s current bullpen success, but it still stings to see another potentially useful arm land in Los Angeles. If Hernández rediscovers his form with the Dodgers, Philadelphia could end up regretting letting valuable pitching depth slip away.
