Toronto FC: Jason Hernandez should prove to be a good signing

Toronto FC decided to add some depth to their defence just days before the Champions League Final, with the signing of free agent Jason Hernandez.

What seemed like a minor deal on the surface, might turn out to be worthwhile for Toronto FC. The Reds have secured the signature of Jason Hernandez to an undisclosed contract.

General manager Tim Bezbatchenko was of course, very quick to defend his new acquisition when saying the following to the TFC website:

"“Jason was an important member of our club last season both on and off the field. He is an experienced veteran that provides us with another strong defender to an already excellent group.”"

Hernandez was thrown right into Saturday’s “bench lineup”, as he played right next to Drew Moor at center-back. The eye test may tell some that he didn’t look incredible, which is true to an extent. Dominique Badji was using his pace to blow right by the former NYCFC defender throughout the first half.

However, Hernandez still managed to record a 95 percent pass accuracy rating with 20 attempted passes including, more intriguingly, two attempted long balls.

For a depth defender, this isn’t a bad total at all, especially for a back-line that is supposed to move the ball very frequently.

The American’s career numbers suggest he’s perfect for a rotational player if one of Moor or Eriq Zavaleta goes down. Hernandez has averaged two tackles and 2.7 interceptions per game over the course of his career with the San José Earthquakes, Chivas USA and NYCFC.

The selling point for this deal was the amount of minutes Hernandez has played in recent years. Being aged over 30 years and logging over 2,000 minutes in a season is a hard pill to swallow, but Hernandez has bit that bullet and performed.

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The defender notched over 2,000 minutes with New York City in 2015-16, while coming very close to that total in each year he played in California with the Earthquakes.

This is a huge steal in terms of the dollar amount as well. Transfermarkt has the Puerto Rican national listed around a $250,000 market value, which means the Reds most likely signed him for half of $1 million.

That’s huge. TFC never know what will happen to their back-line over the course of a long season, which could see multiple competitions at once if they win the Champions League.

Hernandez’s stats, minutes and monetary value add up to another perfect piece in the TFC lineup. Despite his age, Vanney should enjoy having the services of Hernandez for at least a couple of years.

Want more TFC coverage? Look no further than Tip of the Tower for game analysis, transfer rumors and anything related to the Reds.

Next: One high and another low for TFC against Colorado

What’s your take on the signing of Hernandez? Are you happy to have him back with Toronto FC or not, and why? Share your thoughts in the comments below!