Hernandez finishing strong with an eye toward next season

Yadiel Hernandez will turn 34 next month, and his youthful exuberance and willingness to do anything asked of him have ingratiated him to the Nationals, who may have to figure out how to keep him on the roster for the 2022 campaign.

One thing that would make Hernandez's inclusion on the roster next season a no-brainer: if Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association can come to an agreement restoring the designated hitter to the National League, as was the case during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

"We don't know - I don't know - what's going to happen with the DH (or) no DH in our league," manager Davey Martinez said Tuesday in his pregame Zoom session. "But I think he has potential to either play DH, play left field for us coming up next year and give us good at-bats, especially against right-handed pitching."

Being a left-handed hitter, Hernandez should mash right-handed pitchers. But his stats show reverse splits, with better numbers against lefties. Versus southpaws, he is 18-for-56 with four homers and 11 RBIs; against right-handers, he's 41-for-161 with four homers and 13 RBIs.

"If he can continue to do what he's doing, he can help us win some games," Martinez said of Hernandez, who played six seasons in the Cuban National Series before signing with the Nats in October 2016.

In four seasons with Double-A Harrisburg and in Triple-A stops at Fresno and Rochester, Hernandez hit 68 homers and drove in 229 runs. He's a classic late bloomer who may get an extended chance to play with the Nats retooling their roster on the fly.

"I've talked a lot with him the last few days about getting on top of the baseball again," Martinez said. "I thought, every now and then, he gets underneath the ball. You saw he hit a line drive off the fence the other day out to left-center field; that's who he is. And he hit another ball to right field. He just needs to stay on top of the ball, get ready early. When he does that, he's a good hitter."

One example is the game-tying homer by Hernandez that capped a four-run seventh-inning rally and briefly tied last night's game at 5-5 before the Nats lost 8-5. Once again, Hernandez went to the opposite field off a southpaw.

"Ever since I picked up a bat and played baseball, for some reason, I've been able to hit with power the opposite way," Hernandez said through interpreter Octavio Martinez after the game.

And torching left-handed pitching only strengthens Hernandez's case moving forward.

"To be honest, I've never had an issue against left-handers," he said. "I don't know why. Maybe it's because I stay back so well and wait for the pitch to get real deep, and maybe I see it very well from both sides. I really can't tell you the exact reason why, but I've just always done well against left-handers."

Hernandez's hit tool is much more advanced than his defense, something the Nats are working with him to improve.

"He's got to continue to get better out in the outfield," Martinez said. "(On Monday), he made an unbelievable play in left-center field at the end of the game. ... He's working on it and I'm proud of the way he's gone about his business and the way he's gone about helping us win."

Hernandez must be paying attention. He's shown a knack for getting to the baseball and making good throws. Last night, he made a sliding catch to rob Travis d'Arnaud of a hit.

"He's definitely improving and he's working hard at it," Martinez said after Tuesday's loss. "It's something that we've pushed him on all year long, from spring training on, is to become a better outfielder. And he's done a lot better."

Hernandez may not have a lot of service time, but his overall experience between Cuba and the majors makes him someone young players will listen to. And he's an intriguing outfield option moving forward, especially on a club with few guys who play in the grass knocking at the door.

"This guy has potential," Martinez said.

And while he's trying to finish strong, Hernandez is doing so with an eye toward 2022, trying to carve out a niche with the Nats.

"I have my goal set to finish strong and hopefully open some eyes and make sure they know what I can do for next season," he said.