Dodgers Team News

Dodgers Swing a Trade With Reds for RHP Ariel Hernandez

The Dodgers made a few moves prior to Tuesday night’s game including a trade with Cincinnati. Los Angeles acquired relief pitcher Ariel Hernandez in exchange for starting pitcher Zach Neal and first baseman Ibandel Isabel.

Zach Neal had pitched in just one game this year for Los Angeles, and it was not pretty. He gave up a solo home run in what would be his one and only appearance in a Dodgers uniform. Neal also did not have much luck in his two year stint with Oakland from 2016 to 2017. He pitched in a total of 84.2 innings and allowed an unruly 46 earned runs.

Isabel is a bit of a different story altogether. At High A ball for Los Angeles in 2017, he slugged 28 home runs and hit 259 with 87 runs batted in. He profiles as a power right handed bat, but was pretty much limited to playing first base. And that position is…occupied for the foreseeable future at the major league level. It made sense that they let a guy with his sort of power go in exchange for a glaring need in their bullpen. Especially considering how many temporary guys they have in there now.

The Dodgers will receive Ariel Hernandez, who threw 24.1 innings at the major league level in 2017. he allowed 14 runs and 6 home runs, putting him at a 5.18 era. He did show a lot of potential at the minor league levels though. Since 2017, Hernandez has thrown a combined 103.1 innings with a 3.14 earned run average across AA and AAA ball. He certainly looks to be a bullpen candidate this year, perhaps trying to duplicate the success they found in Brandon Morrow.

Analysis

It’s these small trades that are always my favorites. They are usually the ones that turn out to mean the most in the long run. That’s how you end up with your Chris Taylor’s and your Tim Locastro’s. Keep an eye on this one.

Dodgers Dominate in San Diego

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button