Darell Hernaiz Made Big Strides in Second Season with A's

Darell Hernaiz has played a much bigger role on this 2025 Athletics team than last year, where he had a smaller and more limited role, and also lost time due to injury. He's seen a majority of his time at shortstop (23 games), but has also shown his versatility across the infield, playing at third base (19) and second base as well (10).

He was drafted in 2019 in the 5th round by the Baltimore Orioles, and came to the Athletics via trade in 2023 in exchange for left-hander Cole Irvin and Minor League right-hander Kyle Virbitsky. He was in Triple-A Las Vegas to start the 2025 season, where he was efficient in 96 games batting .305 with 118 hits and 50 RBI.

Hernaiz earned a bigger opportunity when he was recalled to fill in for an injured Jacob Wilson when the All-Star rookie was placed on the injured list on July 29 (forearm fracture). This paved the way for Hernaiz to show what he can do with the bat and the glove.

His play was pivotal in helping this Athletics club in the second half. Not only was he able to fill in with his terrific defense, but his bat-to-ball skills, smart at-bats and patience at the plate proved to be better than expected as a temporary situation.

In the past, he’s struggled at times offensively, but his surge this year is a clear improvement with the additional experience he now has at the Major League level. There were a number of at-bats that you could see him grinding down a pitcher and just battling to get his pitch by fouling balls off.

“Defensively, it’s night and day different,” manager Mark Kotsay said of the utility infielder. “From the offensive side, the power is showing up. He battles with the two strikes. He’s changed that approach a little bit, which I love. It’s nice to see a young player do the things that he knew he needed to do to be successful here.”

With the 2025 season now in the rearview mirror, Hernaiz ended up hitting .231 (.259 xBA) with a pair of home runs, 16 RBI, and three stolen bases. He also held an 8.6% walk rate along with a 12.2% strikeout rate, and held one of the lowest whiff rates in baseball (19.3%).

In one of the most-talked series of the Athletics season, Hernaiz worked the count for a huge walk in the bottom of the 10th inning to bring in the winning run as the A’s defeated the (then) AL-leading Detroit Tigers 7-6.

That series sent the Detroit Tigers into somewhat of a tailspin, but for the Athletics, it was a huge momentum builder and great experience for a young team with players such as Hernaiz getting great opportunities as they look to establish themselves in the big leagues.

In a recent game in the series opener against the Houston Astros, Darell Hernaiz came up with a big RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning to give the A's the 2-1 edge.

Those hits and instances where Hernaiz has been able to come through for the green and gold has been a difference maker, and he says he's just not trying to do too much at the plate. Hernaiz enjoyed playing with this group and finding success with the Athletics, and hopes that he can be a part of the A's infield and lineup going forward.