Nationals Agree to Terms with Livan Hernandez

The Washington Nationals today agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher Livan Hernandez on a minor-league contract that includes a Spring Training invitation. Nationals Senior Vice President & General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Hernandez rejoins the Nationals after going 9-12 with a 5.44 ERA in 31 starts last season with Washington and New York (NL). After winning seven games in 23 starts for the Mets, Hernandez signed with the Nationals on August 25, and in eight starts, finished 2-4 with a 5.36 ERA in his second stint in D.C. Hernandez recorded 18 quality starts in 31 assignments (58%) last season, including six in eight outings with Washington. With 26 victories, Hernandez remains the winningest pitcher in the five-year history of the Nationals (2005-present), and he remains the leader in innings pitched (441.2). Meanwhile, Hernandez's 67 starts and 263 strikeouts rank second on the Nationals' all-time list. Hernandez owns the distinction of throwing both the first pitch in the history of the Nationals (April 4, 2005 at Philadelphia) and the first pitch in Washington, DC (April 14, 2005 vs. Arizona) after 33 summers without big league baseball. In 2005, he was the first National to participate in an All-Star Game. He is 156-151 with a 4.45 ERA in 413 games (412 starts) spanning 14 big league seasons. He the only current big league pitcher to have started at least 30 games each of the last 12 seasons.