Two weeks before the start of the 2026-27 season, the Tigres del Licey have strengthened their outfield via a trade with their Santo Domingo-based rivals.

In a trade with the Leones del Escogido, the Tigres acquired outfielder Elier Hernandez in exchange for the rights to Major Leaguer Amed Rosario and a a fifth-round pick in the 2027 LIDOM draft.

Hernandez, 31, has appeared in 162 career winter ball games, the bulk of which were played with LIDOM's Gigantes del Cibao and Leones del Escogido. The native of San Cristobal, Dominican Republic also played 33 games with the Vaqueros de Monteria in the Liga Beisbol Profesional Colombiano in 2021-22. He's a career .253/.341/.343 hitter in winter ball with five homers and 71 RBIs.

He made his Major League debut in 2022 with the Texas Rangers, appearing in 14 games and going 6-for-33 with three RBIs. After spending the 2023 season with Triple-A Round Rock, Hernandez spent two seasons in Japan with Nippon Professional Baseball's Yomiuri Giants, appearing in 108 games at Japan's top level with a slash line of .260/.326/.391, 10 homers and 38 RBIs. With the Caliente de Durango in the summer of 2026, Hernandez batted .272/.350/.531 with 16 homers and 66 RBIs, appearing in 90 games.

The acquisition of Hernandez came at what could be a bargain basement price for the Tigres, who will send the rights to Amed Rosario and a player to be named later to Escogido.

"In Amed, we've added an experienced, versatile player with a proven bat, giving us different options in building our roster. We've also added a draft pick, which represents another important asset for the future of the organization," said Escogido General Manager Carlos Peña in a story on the LIDOM website.

Rosario, 30, has played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball with seven different teams, batting .271/.306/.400 with 79 homers and 423 RBIs in 1,092 career games. A native of Santo Domingo, Rosario has never appeared in LIDOM, so there is a possibility that Escogido's only gain from the deal is the selection in next year's draft.

Rosario is one of eight infielders on the New York Yankees roster for the Wild Card Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.