CLEVELAND — For Major League Baseball relief pitcher Carlos Hernández, a January car crash caused by distracted driving nearly ended his professional career before he could get back to the mound. Now, months after surviving the devastating wreck in Venezuela that left him with multiple life-altering injuries, the 29-year-old right-hander has earned a spot back on the Cleveland Guardians’ 40-man major league roster, closing out a grueling, unlikely journey back to the top tier of American professional baseball.
In a candid interview with reporters from the Guardians’ dugout during team batting practice, Hernández opened up about the fateful crash that changed his perspective on life and safety forever. Speaking through an interpreter, he said he was texting behind the wheel on January 11 when he lost control of his vehicle on a road outside San Felix, in Venezuela’s eastern Bolívar state. He was traveling with two other passengers: his brother-in-law and a close friend, conflicting with earlier local reports that listed his cousin as a second passenger. All people in the car survived, though everyone sustained injuries, and all have since made full recoveries.
“When I got in that accident, I was distracted by my phone, texting while I was driving,” Hernández said. “The injuries I got were extremely serious. I broke my right femur, fractured my left arm, sprained my ankle, and suffered a deep cut on my arm that went almost all the way to the bone. I was terrified in that moment, I thought my career was over for good.”
Today, Hernández says his unlikely return to the majors is nothing short of a miracle. “I feel like being here right now is just a testament of God’s will,” he said. “There’s no ordinary way to explain what I’ve been through and how I got back to this point.”
After months of intensive physical therapy and rehab work at the Guardians’ Triple-A affiliate in Columbus, Hernández showed enough progress to earn his spot back on the 40-man roster, announced by the team Tuesday. He previously appeared in five games with Cleveland toward the end of the 2024 season, before the crash took place that off-season. Over the course of his professional career, Hernández has spent most of his time with the Kansas City Royals, pitching for the team between 2020 and 2024, with short stints with the Philadelphia Phillies and Detroit Tigers before joining Cleveland last year.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said the organization has supported Hernández through every step of his recovery, checking in on him and his family repeatedly in the months after the crash. “I spoke to him right after the accident happened, and then checked in a couple more times once he got to Arizona to start rehab,” Vogt said. “Our first priority was always making sure he and his loved ones were safe and healthy, because some things are so much bigger than baseball. It’s absolutely incredible that he’s back on the mound and returning to the big leagues. I know he and his family have every reason to be incredibly proud of this milestone.”
For Hernández, his story is more than just a comeback story — it’s a warning to drivers everywhere. “I want what happened to me to serve as a reminder for everyone: never text and drive,” he emphasized. “Thankfully, everyone in my car survived this. But that doesn’t mean this mistake can’t have permanent consequences for you and the people you love. I hope my experience stops other people from making the same dangerous choice I made that day.”