A's Season in Review: Darell Hernaiz

Darell Hernaiz made the Oakland Athletics 26-man roster out of camp in 2024, and he made his MLB debut on Opening Day, pinch-hitting for first baseman Ryan Noda, then taking over at third base. J.D. Davis moved from third to first. The former Baltimore Orioles prospect was in the big leagues.
Hernaiz came to Oakland from Baltimore in exchange for Cole Irvin in a straight-up swap. A natural shortstop, he was seen as a potential answer at the position in 2024, but struggled through April, batting .174 with a .264 OBP and two RBI.
In May, he began hitting a little better and it looked like he may be turning a corner, but then in an attempt to beat the throw to first, he landed awkwardly and missed the next two months with a left ankle injury. It was that injury that helped open the door for Max Schuemann to take over shortstop duties and carve out a utility role for himself until top prospect Jacob Wilson returned from his own injury.
The rest of the season was spent rehabbing, and then up and down between the minors and the big leagues. Hernaiz returned to Oakland in early August initially, only to be optioned at the end of the month. He was then brought back for the team's final homestand in Oakland.
Overall he hit .192 with a .261 OBP and a .503 OPS in 120 at-bats, which is a pretty small sample size. He hit one homer, stole a base, and drove in 12 RBI. Up until September 29 in Seattle, Hernaiz had recorded ten one-RBI games. In the game up north he had his first multi-RBI contest, ripping a two-run double to left in what ended up being the final hit in Oakland A's history.
Defensively, Hernaiz spent a little time at second base, but his primary positions were at shortstop and third base, and at short he was solid, being exactly league average according to DRS, and recording a +1 in Fielding Run Value.
Moving forward, however, shortstop is likely to be Wilson's spot, given that he's the A's top prospect. So that leaves Hernaiz, at least for now, in the running to take over at third base on a more consistent basis. Across 195 innings, he compiled a -3 DRS and a -1 FRV, though he has the tools to be successful at the position, and an entire offseason to work on that craft.
One position that the A's will likely address in some way this winter is third base, which will make the path to playing time, and potentially a roster spot, difficult for Hernaiz to begin the 2025 campaign. One interesting tidbit to keep in mind here is that he fared much better in 43 at-bats against lefties than in 77 ABs against right-handers.
He went 12-for-43 (.279) against southpaws, good for a 90 wRC+. While that's still below league average by ten percent, it was also accumulated over a few starts and stops to his first taste of the big leagues. If he shows up to camp looking better defensively, those numbers against left-handers could be his way onto the roster.