Could Darwinzon Hernandez be a guy? (Edit: He's apparently in Japan suddenly)

[Tony-OH]

The Orioles are looking for impact relief pitching and there is a guy in the system who has major league experience and is pitching very well and that's Norfolk left-handed reliever Darwinson Hernandez.

Right now, he's throwing 96-97 and touching 98 with a high spin fastball that garners swings and misses. He's holding AAA batters to a .144/.325/.244/.569 line overall which is driven by his absolute dominance of left-handers hitters (.054/.239/.054/.293). 

Now, what are the current concerns? Well, he struggles to throw strikes at times, especially with his offspeed pitches and right-handers have put up a .208/.382/.377/.760 driven mostly by walks allowed to them.

I don't necessarily think he's an impact guy at the major league level unless he can throw consistent strikes, but over his last ten games he's held batters to a  .125/.282/.125/.407 line with 13 Ks and 5 walks in 9.2 IP.

The question is, would he just be another Cionel Perez at the major league level? Perhaps. Either way, he could be a guy who could come up and be a surprise injection for the bullpen but who would go?

Well they could jettison Irvin back to the minors because they Baumann and Fujinama who can provide some length if needed or they could finally decide that Perez is just not consistent enough and have him step in a Ubaldo pothole and give Hernandez a look.

 

[DirtyBird]

He went to Japan

 

https://www.nikkansports.com/baseball/news/202307240001704.html

Edited July 27, 2023 by DirtyBird

[maybenxtyr]

10 minutes ago, DirtyBird said:

He went to Japan

 

https://www.nikkansports.com/baseball/news/202307240001704.html

Someone should let the Norfolk Tides know... he's on the roster.

[Tony-OH]

11 minutes ago, DirtyBird said:

He went to Japan

 

https://www.nikkansports.com/baseball/news/202307240001704.html

Damn, totally missed that. Wonder how he was able to get out of his Orioles contract? Guess the Orioles weren't going to bring him up or something. 

Thanks for the info though.

[maybenxtyr]

12 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

The Orioles are looking for impact relief pitching and there is a guy in the system who has major league experience and is pitching very well and that's Norfolk left-handed reliever Darwinson Hernandez.

Right now, he's throwing 96-97 and touching 98 with a high spin fastball that garners swings and misses. He's holding AAA batters to a .144/.325/.244/.569 line overall which is driven by his absolute dominance of left-handers hitters (.054/.239/.054/.293). 

Now, what are the current concerns? Well, he struggles to throw strikes at times, especially with his offspeed pitches and right-handers have put up a .208/.382/.377/.760 driven mostly by walks allowed to them.

I don't necessarily think he's an impact guy at the major league level unless he can throw consistent strikes, but over his last ten games he's held batters to a  .125/.282/.125/.407 line with 13 Ks and 5 walks in 9.2 IP.

The question is, would he just be another Cionel Perez at the major league level? Perhaps. Either way, he could be a guy who could come up and be a surprise injection for the bullpen but who would go?

Well they could jettison Irvin back to the minors because they Baumann and Fujinama who can provide some length if needed or they could finally decide that Perez is just not consistent enough and have him step in a Ubaldo pothole and give Hernandez a look.

 

Hernandez or Vespi should definitely be options. Even if it's not a high leverage situation, but Elias seems to struggle with cutting the cord on occasion. They've given Perez about every opportunity you can get but the results are just not there consistently.

[Tony-OH]

2 minutes ago, maybenxtyr said:

Someone should let the Norfolk Tides know... he's on the roster.

Well he's on the "Development list" which is a taxi squad thing. Seems strange though unless the Orioles are allowing him to be "borrowed". Not sure what's going on here.

[maybenxtyr]

14 minutes ago, DirtyBird said:

He went to Japan

 

https://www.nikkansports.com/baseball/news/202307240001704.html

 

3 minutes ago, maybenxtyr said:

Someone should let the Norfolk Tides know... he's on the roster.

You are correct...he had 27 appearances in Norfolk. 

[vab]

I think Hernandez probably saw that if he wasn't getting a shot with the way Perez was struggling that he wasn't going to get one so probably a mutual agreement. 

[Greg Pappas]

He signed with a Japanese team in January, but changed his mind and had been with Norfolk all season... last pitching on July 18th. He then appears to have signed again with a Japanese team a couple of days ago. Odd.

Edited July 27, 2023 by Greg Pappas

[Ohfan67]

He’s lifting weights to build up his strength. It’s the new Oriole way  

[Aristotelian]

MLB.com says he was released today. O's doing his agent a solid? 

[Tony-OH]

2 hours ago, Greg Pappas said:

He signed with a Japanese team in January, but changed his mind and had been with Norfolk all season... last pitching on July 18th. He then appears to have signed again with a Japanese team a couple of days ago. Odd.

I'm assuming his agreement with the Orioles gave him the option to resign with a Japanese club if he decided to once again. Just weird. I can't remember an Orioles minor leaguer leaving to go play in Japan during a season before.

[interloper]

5 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I'm assuming his agreement with the Orioles gave him the option to resign with a Japanese club if he decided to once again. Just weird. I can't remember an Orioles minor leaguer leaving to go play in Japan during a season before.

And he's only a couple bullpen injuries from getting a look on a playoff team with a chance to go deep. Wouldn't you roll the dice on that and just go play in Japan next year? Odd. 

[Tony-OH]

4 minutes ago, interloper said:

And he's only a couple bullpen injuries from getting a look on a playoff team with a chance to go deep. Wouldn't you roll the dice on that and just go play in Japan next year? Odd. 

Has to be "more to the story" as they say.

[Moose Milligan]

Should re-name the thread the Darwinzon Hernandez Appreciation Thread.