César Hernández

César Augusto Hernández (pronounced SAY-zahr; born May 23, 1990) is a Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman for the Centauros de La Guaira of the Venezuelan Major League. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, and Washington Nationals.

On July 2, 2006, the Phillies signed Hernández as an undrafted amateur free agent, at the age of 16. He made his major league debut during the 2013 season. In 2016, he led the major leagues in bunt hits, and led the National League (NL) in infield hits and triples. In 2018, he tied for the major league lead in bunt hits.

Career 2007–10; Early minor league career

Hernández was born in Valencia, Carabobo, in Venezuela, where he also resides in the offseason. He attended Unidad Educativa Cabriales, where he played basketball, volleyball, and baseball.

Phillies' scouts Sal Agostinelli and Jesus Mendez signed him as an amateur free agent on July 2, 2006, at age 16. In the Venezuelan Summer League again in 2008, Hernández hit .315 (8th in the league)/.412 (6th)/.426 with 6 triples (tied for the league lead) and 19 stolen bases (4th) in 60 games, reducing his error total to 8. Between his two seasons in the VSL, he made 59 starts as a second baseman and 35 starts as a shortstop. In 2010, he hit .325 (5th in the league)/.390/.392, including .391 against left-handed pitchers, and added 32 stolen bases (2nd in the league).

2011–12; Upper levels of the minor leagues Entering the 2011 season, Baseball America ranked Hernández the Phillies 14th-best prospect. John Sickels, a minor league baseball analyst for SBNation.com, noted that, entering the 2011 season, Hernández was an "overlooked" prospect with upper-echelon speed. In 2011, he played for the Clearwater Threshers, the Phillies' affiliate in Class A-Advanced, and hit .268/.306/.333, with 4 home runs and 37 runs batted in (RBIs). It was the first season during which he played in more than 100 games, appearing in 119, all at second base. He combined to hit .291/.329/.404 with 2 home runs and 57 RBIs, stealing 21 bases.

Philadelphia Phillies 2013–2014

Hernández began the 2013 season in AAA, but in May, Michael Young was placed on bereavement leave, and Hernández was promoted to the major leagues to fill Young's roster spot. On May 29, he made his debut, pinch hitting for Antonio Bastardo. Shortly after, he was optioned to the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs, with whom he was named to the International League mid-season and post-season All-Star teams, as he batted .309 (3rd in the league)/.375/.402, led the league in triples (9), and was 4th in the league in stolen bases (32). He was the International League Batter of the Week on July 7. His manager, Dave Brundage, commented, "He's done very well offensively and now they're trying to see if we can create a spot or find a spot and see if it's a fit or not." MiLB.com named him a Philadelphia Organization All Star.

After the season, Hernández traveled to his native Venezuela to play for the Venezuelan Winter League Bravos de Margarita, with whom he hit .254/.318/.347, with 2 home runs and 15 RBIs. He had played with Bravos de Margarita in the winters since the 2010 season.

Entering the 2014 season, Hernández drew comparisons to fellow reserve Freddy Galvis. While Galvis could play shortstop and had experience in the corner outfield positions, Hernández could play center field and was a natural second baseman, and with Chase Utley's frequent injuries, Hernández would likely see time there. Both players were expected to see significant time with the big-league team, predominantly due to the established core – players such as Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jimmy Rollins – being relatively old (in 2013, the Phillies average age was 28.4, the third-oldest in the Major Leagues) and injury-prone over the preceding several seasons, leaving ample playing time for replacements such as Hernández, especially considering the fact that he would be able to continue his development in the minor leagues after MLB granted the Phillies a fourth option year, essentially meaning that they could keep him in the minor leagues during the season without him having to clear waivers. Ultimately, he began the season on the major league roster, but was sent down to Reading (AA) in April to focus on honing his defensive skills at third base and shortstop. In 2014 with the Phillies, he batted .237/.290/.281 with one home run, four RBIs, and one stolen base. In 2014 between Reading and Lehigh Valley, he batted .290/.358/.394 with 3 home runs, 24 RBIs, and 8 stolen bases. Hernández ended up being a "highlight in an otherwise pathetic showing" for the Phillies, who finished with 99 losses on the season. Hernández had a 12-game hitting streak from June 26 to July 7, 2015. He batted .272/.339/.348 with one home run, 35 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases, and tied for 5th in the NL in bunt hits (7), for 6th in sacrifice hits (4), and for 9th in infield hits (22).

In 2016, he batted .294/.371/.393 with 6 home runs, 39 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases. He was the first Phillie to hit a leadoff homer on Opening Day since Heinie Mueller in 1938, and the first in the majors since Alfonso Soriano in 2009.

In 2017, he batted .294/.373/.421 with a career-high 26 doubles, 9 home runs, 34 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases. Hernández played all but one game during the season. In 2018, Hernández batted .253/.356/.362 with a career-high 95 walks (5th in the NL), 91 runs, 15 home runs, 60 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases. He had the fastest baserunning sprint speed of all major league second basemen, at 29.2 feet/second. On defense, he led all NL second basemen in errors, with 12.

In 2019, Hernández batted .279/.333/.408 in 161 games (2nd in the National League) with 612 at bats (7th), 45 walks, 77 runs, 123 singles (2nd), a career-high 31 doubles, 14 home runs, 71 RBIs, and 9 stolen bases, and led the NL in infield hits (22). On December 2, 2019, he was non-tendered by the Phillies, making him a free agent.

Cleveland Indians

On December 29, 2019, Hernández signed a one-year contract with the Cleveland Indians. Overall with the 2020 Cleveland Indians, Hernández batted .283/.355/.408 with a league-leading 20 doubles, three home runs, and 20 RBIs in 58 games. He also earned his first career Gold Glove Award after finishing second among American League second basemen in defensive runs saved and posting a .981 fielding percentage. Hernández became a free agent following the 2020 season.

On January 29, 2021, Hernández re-signed with the Indians on a one-year, $5 million contract with a club option for the 2022 season. In 96 games for the Indians in 2021, Hernández hit .231 with 18 home runs and 47 RBI's.

Chicago White Sox On July 29, 2021, Hernández was traded to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for pitcher Konnor Pilkington. He immediately took on the role of the team's new everyday second baseman, rarely sitting out a game. On August 6, he hit his first White Sox home run off of Kyle Ryan of the Chicago Cubs. On September 23, during the same game in which the White Sox clinched the American League Central division title, he went 3-for-3, with one of his hits being the 1000th in his Major League career.

Washington Nationals On November 30, 2021, Hernández signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract with the Washington Nationals. After going without a home run for the entirety of the 2022 season, on September 4, 2022, Hernández hit his first home run of the year. The blast came off of Trevor Williams in a 7–1 victory over the New York Mets. He appeared in 147 games for Washington in 2022, slashing .248/.311/.318 with just one home run to go along with 34 RBI and 10 stolen bases.

Seattle Mariners On January 25, 2023, Hernández signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers organization. On March 27, Hernández requested and was granted his release after not making the Opening Day roster. On March 31, he signed a new minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners. He played in 43 games for the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, hitting .272/.436/.336 with no home runs, 14 RBI, and 7 stolen bases. On June 1, Hernández opted out of his minor league contract and became a free agent.

Centauros de La Guaira On February 19, 2026, Hernández signed with the Centauros de La Guaira of the Venezuelan Major League.

Personal Especially while he was in the minor leagues, Hernández spoke predominantly Spanish, and was uncomfortable speaking English with those he did not know well. As of January 2019, he knew some English but spoke almost entirely in Spanish.

Hernández is married to Gabriela Altuve, and has two children, the first born in 2014 and the second in 2020.