Kansas City Royals reliever Carlos Hernandez (shoulder) is dealing with right shoulder soreness and has not thrown off a mound in two weeks, president of baseball operations J.J. Picollo told MLB.com's Anne Rogers on Friday. With that said, the expectation is that Hernandez will throw his first bullpen soon and should get six or seven live innings before Opening Day. Barring anything unforeseen, and assuming Hernandez recovers smoothly, the 26-year-old should make Kansas City's Opening Day roster. He delivered 70 innings last season, totaling 9.90 K/9, 3.00 BB/9, and a 4.28 FIP.

Kansas City Royals right-hander Carlos Hernandez came into Wednesday's contest against the Oakland Athletics with one out in the eighth inning and went on to finish the game. He allowed no hits or walks and struck out one to earn the save and help his club win 4-0. Hernandez now has three saves on the campaign to go along with a 4.28 ERA (3.45 FIP), 1.10 WHIP, and 29.3% strikeout rate. Although the Royals don't win often, the 26-year-old will get his fair share of save opportunities as the leader of the closer committee after the team traded away Scott Barlow at the trade deadline.

Kansas City Royals right-hander Carlos Hernandez pitched the ninth inning on Monday, trying to protect a 2-2 tie. However, he allowed a hit and two walks before giving up a walk-off grand slam to Pablo Reyes. Hernandez now owns a 4.20 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 29.3% strikeout rate with one save and 11 holds over 55 2/3 innings. With Scott Barlow now in San Diego, the 26-year-old looks like the best candidate for save opportunities, even after his blow up on Monday, so fantasy managers in deep formats may want to add him from the waiver wire.

The Kansas City Royals continue to draw significant trade interest in relief pitchers Scott Barlow and Carlos Hernandez as the Aug. 1 trade deadline draws near, according to sources. Barlow is more likely to be moved based on club control; he's set to be a free agent after the 2024 season, while Hernandez will be arbitration-eligible for each of the next four years. Barlow, 30, has recorded 12 saves this and has fanned 45 hitters in 36 2/3 innings, but he also has a bloated 5.15 ERA (3.61 FIP) and 1.53 WHIP on the year. Hernandez, 26, doesn't have any saves and has posted a 3.78 ERA (2.82 FIP), 1.00 WHIP, 13 walks and 57 strikeouts in 50 relief innings for the Royals.

Kansas City Royals right-hander Carlos Hernandez will start Wednesday's game against Yu Darvish and the San Diego Padres, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports. The 26-year-old has appeared exclusively out of the pen this season but does have experience as a starter, starting seven games in 2022. It's been a year of mixed results thus far for Hernandez, who owns a 4.50 ERA and 1.30 WHIP but is striking out batters at a 28.2% rate and is running a 3.85 xFIP. Still, fantasy managers might want to keep the Venezuelan on the waiver wire, as he threw more than five innings just once in all of his starts last season.

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Carlos Hernandez had a strong outing against the Detroit Tigers on Friday. He pitched five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out one. He wound up with a no decision on the day. The 24-year-old right-hander has been mostly reliable over the past few months. He's held opponents to two or less runs in eight of his last 10 outings. He's 6-2 with a 3.68 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP on the year. His negatives are that he doesn't typically go deep into games and he has just a 20.7% strikeout rate on the year. He's slated to make one last start this year against the Cleveland Indians next Thursday.

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Carlos Hernandez was roughed up in his outing against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday. He pitched four innings and allowed nine hits, four walks and seven earned runs while striking out three. He earned the loss, dropping his record to 6-2 on the year. Hernandez had rattled off four consecutive solid outings before this one. Three of his previous four outings were quality starts and he'd held opponents to one or fewer runs in six of his previous eight starts. The 24-year-old will take a 3.90 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP into his next start against the Cleveland Indians on Monday.

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Carlos Hernandez had a strong outing against the New York Yankees on Monday. He pitched 6 2/3 innings and allowed five hits, one walk and one earned run while striking out three. This was his longest outing of the year and his second quality start over his last three starts. He has now allowed just two earned runs over his last 17.2 innings pitched. Through 17 games (five starts) on the year, Hernandez has gone 3-1 with a 4.11 ERA, a 1.35 WHIP and a 26.2% strikeout rate. He's got some minor fantasy appeal based on his recent success, but his next start will be one to avoid for fantasy managers as he takes on the Houston Astros next Monday.

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Carlos Hernandez had his second straight solid outing on Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox. Hernandez pitched five innings and allowed just two hits, two walks and one earned run while striking out six. He earned the win to improve to 3-1 on the year. Hernandez fired six scoreless innings in his previous start before this one, also against the White Sox. Through 16 games and four starts on the year, he has a 4.58 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He's worth keeping an eye on for fantasy managers in deep leagues, but he isn't someone worth adding in any formats quite yet. His next start will be on Monday against the New York Yankees.

Kansas City Royals pitcher Carlos Hernandez had his best outing of the year against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday. He pitched six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out four. He earned the win to improve to 2-1 on the year. This was his third start and his longest outing of the year. He's made 15 appearances overall and has a 4.98 ERA. The Royals have a number of injured pitchers and as a result, Hernandez should remain in the rotation for at least the next few weeks. He'll make his next start on Wednesday, facing the White Sox once again.