Catcher Ronaldo Hernández is something of an undercover mystery. He has spent time on major league rosters in his nearly decade-long professional career, but he has yet to actually make his MLB debut.
Hernández, who the Red Sox signed to a minor league deal on Thursday but was last seen in a major league organization with the Yankees, has already spent three seasons with the Sox. In 2021, the Rays shipped him up to Boston alongside Nick Sogard in exchange for Jeffrey Springs, Chris Mazza, and cash considerations, and he spent some time in Double-A Portland that year before being promoted to Triple-A Worcester.
He became a mainstay on the WooSox's roster through 2023, but he was also recalled to the majors and then optioned back down twice in 2022 without ever appearing in a game.
He became a free agent after 2023, then spent a short-lived minor league stint with the Diamondbacks before being released and moving on to the Yankees organization this year. He was released on July 4, spent exactly three days with a Mexican League team, and then signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox to recover a depth catching option after they traded Blake Sabol to the White Sox on July 12.
Red Sox sign former Yankees catcher Ronaldo Hernández to a minor-league deal
Will this finally be the year that Hernández makes his major league debut? His 2025 numbers in Scranton don't exactly make that seem promising (.221/.287/.351), but he did put up a nice line with the Reno Aces last season (.311/.864).
Meanwhile, Connor Wong is putting up flat-out embarrassing numbers through 34 games as backup to Carlos Narváez, and he does still have a minor league option. If the Red Sox were to finally say that enough was enough, they could swap out Wong for Hernández to give the latter a trial run and his first earnest shot at the major leagues.
Aside from the dip with the Yankees, Hernández has been an incredibly solid minor league bat throughout the majority of his career. In his 2023 season with Worcester, he brought in 70 runs in just 99 games and swatted 19 homers. His short time in Reno yielded 11 homers, including a massive grand slam.
So, who knows? It's easy to root for farmhands like Hernández, who have gotten so close to the majors but have never been able to fully make the jump. He came closest in his last stint with the Red Sox. Perhaps 2025 is his year.