Houston Astros Minor leagues (2011–2016) Hernández signed with the
Houston Astros as an international free agent in February 2011. He made his professional debut that season for the
Dominican Summer League Astros, where he was named the team's MVP. Hernández played the entire 2013 season with the Single-A
Quad City River Bandits, and hit .271 with 13 home runs, 55 RBI, and 24 stolen bases. During the offseason, Hernández appeared in 23 games for the
Toros del Este of the
Dominican Winter League. In 119 games, Hernández hit .292 with 21 home runs, 85 RBI, and 33 stolen bases. and he made his MLB debut as the starting
center fielder against the
Toronto Blue Jays that day, recording two hits in four at-bats. His first big league hit was a home run off of
Francisco Liriano in the sixth inning. He remained with the Astros through the end of the 2016 season and hit .230 with four home runs and 11 RBI in 41 games. In the minors that year, he batted .307 in 107 games, with 10 home runs, 53 RBI, and 34 stolen bases. but was recalled on April 25 to replace an injured
Jake Marisnick. However, he was injured in a collision with teammate
Jose Altuve in his first game and went on the
disabled list.
Toronto Blue Jays 2017–2019 On July 31, 2017, the Astros traded Hernández and
Nori Aoki to the
Toronto Blue Jays for Francisco Liriano. He was assigned to the Triple-A
Buffalo Bisons and joined the Blue Jays on September 1. On September 10, Hernández hit two home runs against the
Detroit Tigers, the first multi home run game of his career. In 26 games played, Hernández hit .261 with eight home runs and 20 RBIs. Though he struggled defensively in left field during his first full major league season, Hernández emerged as one of Toronto's top offensive players, slugging 51
extra-base hits in his first 100 games. In 134 games for the Blue Jays, he hit .239 with 22 home runs. for two weeks and returned to the major league team to play center field, finishing the season with a .230 batting average and 26 home runs in 125 games. winning the
American League (AL)
Silver Slugger Award for right field in the
shortened season and having the fourth-best rate of at-bats per home run in the league. He also made his postseason debut, getting one hit in seven at-bats for the Blue Jays in the
Wild Card Series. and finished the season batting .296 with 32 home runs, and a career-high 116 RBIs. On March 22, 2022, Hernández signed a $10.65 million contract with the Blue Jays, avoiding salary arbitration. He hit .267 with 25 home runs and 77 RBI during the season
Seattle Mariners (2023) On November 16, 2022, the Blue Jays traded Hernández to the Mariners for pitchers
Erik Swanson and
Adam Macko. He lost his
salary arbitration case and received a one-year, $14 million contract on February 18, 2023, after seeking $16.5 million. Hernández played in 160 games for Seattle in 2023, hitting .258 with 26 homers and 93 RBI. Hernández hit noticeably worse at
T-Mobile Park and said he struggled with the batter's eye at Seattle's home stadium. He elected
free agency on November 2. He won the
National League (NL)
Player of the Week Award for the week of June 3–9 after he was 9 for 25 with four home runs, three doubles, six runs scored, and 10 RBI during that span. He was selected to the
All-Star Game, his second such selection. He won the
MLB Home Run Derby, the first Dodger to win the contest. He finished the regular season with a .272 average, a career-high 33 home runs, and 99 RBIs in 154 games. a loss to the
San Diego Padres. He then hit another home run in Game 5 to help the Dodgers win the series. He had six hits in 18 at-bats in the series with seven RBI. He struggled in the
NL Championship Series (NLCS) against the
New York Mets, recording two hits in 22 at-bats with one RBI. Hernández hit .350 in the
World Series against the
New York Yankees with one home run and 4 RBI in five games, including a game-tying two-run double off
Gerrit Cole as part of a five-run rally in the 5th inning of the deciding Game 5 as the Dodgers won the series. Hernández started his second year with the Dodgers as the right fielder on March 18 against the
Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, as part of the
MLB Tokyo Series. In the game, Hernández went 1-for-4 with an RBI single in the Dodgers' win. On April 27, he hit his 200th career home run in the bottom of the fifth inning against the
Pittsburgh Pirates'
Bailey Falter. On July 3, Hernández recorded his 1,000th career hit in the top of the fifth inning against the
Chicago White Sox He played in 134 games during the season, with a
slash line of .247/.284/.454, his lowest offensive production since 2019. He did hit 25 home runs and drive in 89 RBI. Hernández began the postseason by hitting two home runs in the opening game of the
Wild Card Series against the
Cincinnati Reds. He had four hits total in the two games. In the
NLDS and
NLCS combined, he had seven hits in 31 at-bats with two home runs and five RBI. Hernández won his second consecutive championship when the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays in seven games in the
World Series. He had seven hits in 29 at-bats with one home run and two RBI in the series. ==International career==