Dodgers Select Jonathan Hernández

The Dodgers announced they’ve selected reliever Jonathan Hernández back onto the big league club. Landon Knack was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City to open a bullpen spot. L.A. didn’t announce a corresponding 40-man roster move but will need to make one of those as well.

It’s a quick turnaround for Hernández. He was just designated for assignment on Monday. Hernández cleared outright waivers today, according to the MLB.com transaction log. He either accepted a minor league assignment or elected free agency in a procedural move to sign a separate big league contract. That’s immaterial, as he’s back on the MLB roster.

It is important to note that Hernández was dropped from the 40-man roster and cleared waivers, however. Pitchers who are optioned (meaning they don’t go through waivers) must spend at least 15 days in the minors unless they’re being called back up to replace an injured player. The outright avoids that rule. Hernández is out of options and needs to clear waivers every time he’s dropped from an MLB roster, but no other club wanted to give him a bullpen spot.

This is Hernández’s third MLB stint since the Dodgers first picked him up in May. He’d pitched well for the Phillies’ top affiliate to get L.A.’s attention. Hernández hasn’t been especially effective at the MLB level this year, allowing a 6.45 ERA with subpar strikeout and walk marks over 22 1/3 innings. Most of the damage came earlier in the year, as Hernández reeled off 4 2/3 frames of scoreless ball in his most recent week-long major league stint.