At the end of July, the Cleveland Guardians’ bullpen was in free fall. Emmanuel Clase had just been suspended indefinitely as a part of a sports betting investigation and Cade Smith’s first chance at picking up a save went horrible. It felt like another instance of the Guardians hitting rock bottom.
And, in response to that, the Guardians shocked the baseball world by signing… Carlos Hernández, a pitcher who recorded a 6.69 ERA in 36 1/3 innings with the Royals and Phillies.
And, in the end, Hernandez only ended up pitching seven innings with the Guardians before being designated for assignment.