Braves: 5 under-the-radar trade targets Atlanta should be scouting
By Tim Boyle
3) Braves trade target Yadiel Hernandez could be hard to pray away from the Nationals
One thing the Washington Nationals have going for them this year is that the offense has been pretty good. Outfielder Yadiel Hernandez is having another good year. His stay in Washington has been completely overlooked because he didn’t join them until after the 2019 championship season. He spent that year in Triple-A hitting .323/.406/.604 with 33 home runs.
Hernandez hasn’t put up quite the same numbers in the big leagues but he does look like a massive improvement over many of the other players on the Braves. There is an obvious problem with making a trade for him, though. As a pre-arbitration player, the Nationals have no real need to move him. They also could be reluctant to trade him within the division.
Hernandez is, however, already 34. Given the direction of the franchise, it might be wise to trade him now while he is having some success. By the time the Nationals are ready to win again, he’ll be on the other side of 35 and there’s no telling how productive he would be.
Prying this low-salaried, high-performing player away from the Nationals might be a fool’s errand for Atlanta. Maybe willingness to take on a bad contract could help get it done. Surely, if anyone would be willing to pay the rest of Patrick Corbin’s salary, the Nationals would toss in Hernandez.