Darell Hernaiz Making His Case For A's Roster With Game-Winner in WBC

The A's infielder walked it off for Puerto Rico on Saturday night

Aug 5, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Athletics third base Darell Hernaiz (2) celebrates after hitting a two run home run against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

While the A's were busy getting blanked by the Los Angeles Angels in Las Vegas, Darell Hernaiz—a player that may not even be on the A's Opening Day roster—was creating core memories for a generation.

Coming into camp, it looked like a two-man race for who would be the A's starting third baseman on Opening Day. Darell Hernaiz was one option, and Max Muncy the other. Both began camp at a blistering pace, batting over .400, but since Hernaiz joined the Puerto Rican club for the World Baseball Classic, Muncy has slowed down a touch, going 2-for-11 with four strikeouts in March.

Meanwhile, Hernaiz just walked off a thrilling WBC game with a solo home run in the bottom of the tenth inning for Puerto Rico. Not only was this a big moment for his team, but it's also exactly what we said we needed to see more of from Hernaiz this spring in order for him to land the third base job.

Hernaiz got all of that one. So happy for him. Just a wonderful person to chat with. pic.twitter.com/ft6XXUZVEy

— Jason Burke (@ByJasonB) March 8, 2026

We specifically wanted to see more extra-base power from the 24-year-old, and he has delivered. He went 1-for-4 with a single that helped get the rally started for Puerto Rico on Friday night, following A's teammate Carlos Cortes' single to get something going.

Saturday night Hernaiz ended up going 2-for-5 with the walk-off homer to left. In the five games he played in A's camp, Hernaiz went 5-for-11 with three doubles, which is exactly the kind of production that could land him a role with the club moving into the regular season.

The other key factor

In his previous at-bat leading off the bottom of the ninth with his team down by a run, Hernaiz was on he wrong end of a bad called strike, which took his at-bat from a 3-0 count to a 2-1 count. He ended up flying out to right field, but as you can see below, he should have easily walked.

Should have been an easy walk for Hernaiz to lead off the bottom of the ninth, but that third pitch was called a strike. pic.twitter.com/d69gExCQQp

— Jason Burke (@ByJasonB) March 8, 2026

Puerto Rico was still able to push the tying run across before the end of the inning, but when that third pitch was called a ball, Hernaiz jumped up in disagreement before apologizing to the umpire. He was able to recover well the next inning.

It's also important that he was able to meet the moment and deliver the big blow. That's something that not a lot of hitters on the A's have experience with, given the youth on the roster and the team being out of postseason contention in recent seasons. There have been plenty of game-winning hits recorded, but April in Sacramento isn't the same as the WBC or October baseball.

Providing opportunities to the guys that meet those types of challenges wouldn't be a bad call by the A's moving forward.

The one caveat

This was a terrific home run, and a meaningful one for so many people. We're not trying to disparage the accomplishment at all, but we do want to bring up one more point as it relates to this performance being a point in the favor of Hernaiz earning playing time in the big leagues.

The opposing pitcher, Severino González, last pitched in the big leagues for the Philadelphia Phillies during the 2016 season, holding a 5.60 ERA across 35 1/3 innings. He pitched in the minors with the Miami Marlins in 2017 and 2018, but has since been pitching in a slew of foreign leagues. Most recently he's been in the Mexican League, holding a 9.72 ERA in 8 1/3 innings last season.

The pitch he threw to Hernaiz was also a 90.1 mile per hour fastball, which is pretty slow for a right-hander. The heater was located on the inner-third, and roughly middle-middle. On the one hand, you can say "of course he hit that one out!" That's fair.

But a decent amount of home runs that are hit every season are on mistake pitches, too. That Hernaiz was able to turn on a mistake pitch and deliver a game-winning home run may have vaulted him back into the A's plans to begin 2026. Not just because of the moment, but because of all of the surrounding factors.

For more A's news and insights, follow Jason @ByJasonB on X, or the site @InsideTheAs!