Hernandez is from the Houston area and played his college ball with the Cougars. He was drafted in the eighth round by his hometown club in 2016 and spent parts of seven seasons with the organization. He rose to the top at Triple-A and qualified for minor league free agency during the 2022-2023 offseason. Hernandez signed a minor league deal with the Padres and defeated the majors at the end of the ’23 campaign. San Diego traded him back to the Astros the following year.
Over the past two seasons, Hernandez has played fifteen MLB games. He was tagged for 13 runs in 18 2/3 innings. He posted consecutive sub-3.00 ERA shows in Triple-A. That included a 2.12 rating, which equates to an excellent 33.7% strikeout rate over 46 2/3 minor league innings this year. However, the Astros never gave him much attention at the big league level, largely due to his average speed.
Hernandez averages about 91 MPH on his fastball. He also has an upper-80s slider and splitter. Hernandez has missed a lot of bats in the minors, but doesn’t have the pinpoint control typically required to succeed at below-average velocity. He walked nearly 12% of Triple-A opponents for the second year in a row. Hernandez has given up eight home runs in 21 2/3 career MLB innings, compounding the damage of giving up too many free passes. Houston designated him for assignment on the final weekend of the season and released him after he failed to claim waivers.
Kriske, 32 in February, split the 2025 season between the Cubs and Twins. He combined for 18 innings of 7.50 ERA ball. Kriske has walked 15 of the 88 batters he has faced and has completed free passes at a nearly 17% clip over 39 2/3 career innings. Like Hernandez, he missed a lot of bats in Triple-A. Kriske fanned over 34% of opponents while relying mostly on a 93-94 MPH fastball and an upper-80s splitter. He found himself in the strike zone in Triple-A this year, but has had well-below-average command throughout his career, an issue that has resurfaced in his MLB work. He was defeated by Minnesota in September and qualified for minor league free agency at the end of the year.
The A’s entered the offseason with almost no experienced arms in their bullpen. They added Mark Leiter Jr. on a cheap major league contract while building non-roster depth with minor league deals for Joel Kuhnel, Nick Anderson, Wander serum, Matt Krook, Geoff Hartlieb And Ben Bowden. Kriske and Hernandez join the mix and try to get invites to the big league camp. Sutter Health Park is a tough place to pitch, but the lack of established relievers on the roster makes the A’s a solid landing spot for depth weapons looking to make an impact in Spring Training.
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