Try as I might, I cannot remember one game in which Carlos Hernandez pitched for the Phillies. In fact, searching for his picture in the database for this piece, I had to get real specific about what I was looking for.
2025 stats (w/ Phillies):
25 G, 25 2/3 IP, 18.7 K%, 10.6 BB%, 0.83 HR/9, 6.23 ERA (4.20 FIP), 0.1 fWAR
What went right:
The Phillies are a storied franchise that has its name woven throughout the history of the game. Some of that is good – there is at least one player that has put in the red
pinstripes that can be considered the best to ever play his position in Mike Schmidt. There is also Steve Carlton, arguably one of the two or three best left handed pitchers to ever throw a baseball sixty feet, six inches.
There is also some bad in the team’s history. Their owner was banned for gambling on his own team, they are known as the franchise to have lost the most games in the history of major league baseball. Since its inception, there has been more bad than good when talking about the team.
Still, they are a major league franchise, one that has been around for a long time. It should be an honor to put on their uniform and etch your name among the many, many players that have done the same.
Carlos Hernandez did that in 2025.
What went wrong:
48 baserunners in those 25 2/3 innings with the Phillies.
While he wasn’t a complete disaster with the team, he was darn close to it, necessitating a move that led to his release.
Hernandez is yet another example in a litany of them where teams will try and find a player on a cheap one-year deal and see if they can wring out any kind of talent from what’s left in their system. In his case, Hernandez had nothing left to squeeze out.
The future with the Phillies:
None.
Actually, who is he even pitching for these days? Checks Baseball Reference…
Wait, he pitched for three teams last year? Says he pitched for the Phillies, the Tigers and the Guardians. Check with those sites and I’ll guarantee they have no recollection of his throwing a pitch for those organizations either. He is about as nondescript a relief pitcher as one can be.
