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The power-hitting Dominican was initially acquired by the Jays at the July 31 trade deadline in 2017. When he got promoted to the big leagues about a month later, it marked the unofficial start of a 海角社区官网rebuild. The Jays, amid a disappointing and injury-plagued year, were moving on from a veteran-laden team that had advanced to the AL championship series in 2015 and 2016.

There was a stretch late in 2017 when Hern谩ndez was the only reason to turn on a game. He homered eight times in September and transitioned from someone who had been considered an interesting piece to a player who was being carved into the club鈥檚 long-term plans.

Part of Hern谩ndez鈥檚 role was to bridge the gap from one era to the next. He was teammates with post-season heroes like Jos茅 Bautista, Russell Martin, Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette were playing for Class-A Dunedin, still two seasons away from The Show.

Over the next six years, Hern谩ndez would go on to win two Silver Slugger awards and make an all-star team. Since June 2019, only 16 players have hit more home runs than his 75 but the bat alone wasn鈥檛 enough to keep him around. With a desire to improve their run prevention, the Jays deemed Hern谩ndez鈥檚 run creation skills as expendable.

鈥淚t was not a surprise,鈥� said Hernandez, who was treated to a partial standing ovation during his first at-bat before he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the Jays鈥� 3-2 win on Friday night. 鈥淚 was seeing a lot of tweets on social media that it might happen during the off-season. I wasn鈥檛 thinking it would be that quick, but it happened right away.

鈥淏ut still, it鈥檚 something you never expect. Especially me, I was here for six years and spent a lot of time with the boys. But it is what it is. It鈥檚 a business and they do the best they can to make the team better. That鈥檚 the way they feel, so they traded me.鈥�

Hern谩ndez is correct that the trade didn鈥檛 come out of left field. Many in the media had been predicting changes were coming after the Jays were swept out of the wild-card series by the Mariners in embarrassing fashion.

GM Ross Atkins was on record stating his goal was to upgrade the pitching and defence. Publicly, he was less vocal about creating more balance in his lineup, but anyone in the know was aware of that being a top priority, too. Most insiders figured Hern谩ndez or Lourdes Gurriel Jr. were on the outs and, in the end, both found new homes.

One can鈥檛 help but assume Hern谩ndez felt singled out by his former club鈥檚 desire for change. He wasn鈥檛 the reason behind the Jays鈥� struggles against right-handers and, even though Hern谩ndez will never be known for his glove, the Jays鈥� defensive issues extended well beyond his spot in right field.

Reporters wanted to know whether Hern谩ndez felt disappointed, hurt or confused about the Jays鈥� decision to trade him. What was going through his mind when he first got word that he was heading to the team that disposed of the Jays?

鈥淎 lot of questions, but at the end of day, whatever I think doesn鈥檛 matter,鈥� Hern谩ndez said, flashing a mischievous smile that seemed to indicate he had plenty more to say. 鈥淚 take it the best way I can, just keep going and do the best that I can with my new team.鈥�

On that front things have been going well, but not great, for Hern谩ndez. The biggest positive is that the eight-year veteran has been healthy enough to play a full April for the first time since 2019. Through 26 games, Hernandez is batting .216 with six home runs, 15 RBIs and a below-average .672 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.

Hern谩ndez has yet to hit his stride, but that shouldn鈥檛 be overly surprising because he has always been streaky and his cold streaks are almost always offset by his hot ones.

鈥淲e love having Teo as part of our club,鈥� Mariners manager Scott Servais said. 鈥淥bviously, he means a lot to the Blue Jays and what he was able to do for them. He鈥檚 a really talented player. He certainly understands the league and who he is. He鈥檚 added a lot to our clubhouse.鈥�

Hern谩ndez鈥檚 return came at a good time for the Jays. While there was no shortage of critics, including this columnist, who believed moving Hern谩ndez to gamble on the health and production of Kevin Kiermaier was a mistake, that evidence has yet to present itself on the field.

Kiermaier, already a fan favourite, has appeared in 22 games while hitting .290 average with a .773 OPS. Add in the Gold Glove-calibre defence and the improved balance in the lineup with another left-handed bat and, at least for now, it becomes easy to understand why the Jays did what they did.

Whether they will still feel that way at the end of the year remains to be seen. It鈥檚 too early to make that judgment, but for now the Jays like the look of their team and Hern谩ndez seems perfectly content with his new surroundings, too. Maybe this ends up being one of those rare deals that works out for everyone.