The Dodgers made a bullpen swap on Wednesday, designating right-hander Jonathan Hernández for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot for Brock Stewart's return from the injured list. It's a move Dodgers fans have basically seen on repeat all season.
This isn't Hernández's first rodeo with the DFA pile in Los Angeles this year — it's his third. He's essentially been the Dodgers' unofficial 41st man on the 40-man roster in 2026, shuffled on and off the active roster whenever the front office needed a fresh arm. He started the season with the Phillies on a minor league deal, opted out in May, and landed a big league contract with LA shortly after.
The numbers explain why he's the guy who keeps drawing the short straw. Across 16 appearances for the Dodgers this season, Hernández posted a 5.68 ERA over 25 1/3 innings, with a 20.2% strikeout rate and an 11.9% walk rate that made him more volatile than dependable out of the pen. For a bullpen constantly being tinkered with down the stretch, that kind of profile makes you replaceable in a hurry.
There's a real wrinkle to this DFA, though: Hernández, 30, has exhausted his minor league options. That means the Dodgers can't just quietly shuffle him back to Triple-A Oklahoma City this time — he has to clear waivers first, same as any other DFA candidate. If he clears again, he'd have the right to elect free agency rather than accept another outright assignment, which could finally end this cycle of him bouncing on and off the roster.
For the Dodgers, it's a minor procedural move in the grand scheme of a playoff push, but it's also a reminder of how much churn happens at the back of a bullpen during a pennant race. Every DFA, waiver claim, and 40-man shuffle matters when a team like LA is trying to keep its pitching staff fresh in August. Whether Hernández gets claimed elsewhere, outrighted, or finally walks away as a free agent should play out over the next few days.