Darell Hernaiz on Fighting For His Opportunity with the A's This Spring
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Darell Hernaiz has been in competition every step of his journey to get to the big leagues. Selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the fifth round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of high school, he was quickly joined in the system by Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg and Coby Mayo, putting him in a battle for a spot on the O's roster.
The A's traded for Hernaiz ahead of the 2023 season, sending Cole Irvin to Baltimore in the exchange. In 2024, he made the A's Opening Day roster, but struggled in his initial stint with the club, batting just .103 through the middle of April, and was optioned to Triple-A for a quick reset.
He was back with the A's eight days later, and went 9-for-37 (.243) out of the gate before a left ankle injury he sustained running down the line took him out until August. He had just started to turn things around, and was being given an opportunity, but the injury pushed him to the back of the line yet again, with the arrival of Jacob Wilson in Oakland later in the year.
This spring, Hernaiz is still fighting for his shot, this time at third base. He's being challenged by Max Muncy (the favorite) and Brett Harris (the natural third baseman), but Hernaiz has evolved his game over the past year, and impressed his coaches and the front office in his brief stint with the club at the end of 2025. He also has the tools the A's are looking for at third base this spring.
We've seen that he can make contact at a solid rate, giving the A's the potential for a high-contact lineup, but the main question for him this spring will be whether he will drive the ball more in 2026.
The other question will be how his glove translates to third base. Given that he's a solid defender at shortstop, it would seem as though it's just a matter of time before the hot corner becomes his domain too.
Hernaiz on the progress he made in 2025
Hernaiz appeared on A's Cast this week, and was asked if it was last year when he started putting it all together. He ended up batting .231 with a .292 OBP and a .598 OPS in 51 games (197 plate appearances).
"A little bit. It had a lot to do with my confidence, and my mental, knowing I could do it at the big leaugue level. I always thought I could, but actually having a little bit of success helped me out, mentally. It's all about getting reps at feeling comfortable at that level."
He also mentioned that this group has all grown up together with the A's, and now they're all one year older, one year wiser.
"Just walking around you see Jacob [Wilson] from last year to this year, he knew he was good, but now he knows [he can] in the big leagues, he's done it. Or [Tyler] Soderstrom, he always had the talent. Now, he knows, everybody knows, there's no doubt. I think everyone walks around knowing that they're going to do it, or knowing they did it, not 'I think I can do it.'"
When he knew Nick Kurtz was special
Hernaiz also talked about getting to see Nick Kurtz up close from the beginning of the 2025 season back in Triple-A, and that he knew the A's first baseman was special from just those handful of games.
"I mean, there's a lot of guys that have a lot of hype, but the guy just has an unbelievable strike zone awareness, and that's the most important thing in the big leagues. It's the thing I've struggled with, and a lot of young guys, too. He just hit the ball so hard, and he knows how to drive the ball in the air, so he's not wasting his power.
"I thought it would take him like half of a season, and I guess he started a little bit slow" he joked. "From the beginning, the first at-bat of the season, I was hitting third, he was hitting second, and he went like 107 [mph] line drive at the first baseman." He went on to say that hitting behind him was tough because Kurtz would crush a ball, but Hernaiz doesn't have that same tool as consistently.
On Tuesday, Hernaiz will be getting his first start at third base this spring, with Max Muncy earning a pair of them, and newcomer Andy Ibáñez earning the third.
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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