The Philadelphia Phillies are on top of the world — or the baseball world, at least — as the 2025 MLB season enters the final days of May. Rob Thomson's club has done a terrific job at standing above the competition, as the Phillies enter Friday's action with a division-leading 32-18 record, which is also good enough for first place in the National League.
It's taken a great team effort to produce that success, but it's also true that not every Phillies player is doing their part. While certain veterans have stepped up in the batter's box and on the mound to cement the team as a World Series contender, one struggling hurler has done everything but help Philadelphia's outlook.
Phillies RHP Carlos Hernandez Making it Easy to Say Goodbye in 2025
The Phillies were dealt a huge blow when star closer Jose Alvarado was hit with an 80-game suspension last week, leaving him ineligible for a potential playoff run this fall. While losing a pitcher as elite as Alvarado will always hurt, the blow wouldn't have been as bad if fellow reliever Carlos Hernandez's 2025 campaign was nothing short of a disaster.
After spending the last five seasons with the Kansas City Royals, the Phillies claimed Hernandez off waivers less than a week before Opening Day 2025. It seemed like a decent chance to take on a veteran reliever who just posted a 3.30 ERA with 27 strikeouts across 30 innings with the Royals last season.
Fast forward to the end of May, when Hernandez hasn't performed as advertised. If anything, the 28-year-old Venezuelan hurler has been one of the National League's worst relievers. Through his first 19 innings in as many appearances in a Phillies jersey, Hernandez is pitching to a putrid 6.63 ERA after allowing three homers and 14 earned runs on 24 hits.
It doesn't help that the 11.4 hits per nine innings he's allowing is a noticeable increase from last year's performance (7.2), while his 1.4 HRs and 5.2 walks per nine are his worst efforts since the 2021 campaign.
There are nights when Hernandez looks like a reliable arm, but those performances are too few and far between. The inconsistencies make him difficult to trust on a nightly basis, making him the opposite of the kind of reliever the Phillies need on their quest toward championship glory.
If Hernandez doesn't turn things around soon, Philadelphia could be tempted to trade him away or even designate him for assignment. After all, it could be a necessary move to make if the Phillies want to capitalize on FanDuel Sportsbook's +1000 odds (T-3rd) to win the 2025 World Series.
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