Livan interested in working for Nationals full-time

WASHINGTON -- Livan Hernandez said recently he would like to become a full-time employee for the Nationals. He is known as an ambassador for the club and was last seen at Nationals Park in July.

This past season, he threw batting practice to the team's position players and gave advice to some of the pitchers.

"I want to do something different and maybe stay there the whole year. I want to help the team the whole year. Let's see," Hernandez said. "I think I can help next year a lot. All the players want me there. I want to be with them. We'll wait until next year and see what happens."

Hernandez, 39, is arguably the most popular pitcher in Nationals history. He was a workhorse during his time with the Expos/Nats. He was often among the league leaders in innings pitched and was considered the leader of the pitching staff. Hernandez also has the distinction of throwing the first pitch in Nationals history and making an All-Star appearance with the club in 2005.

The Nationals dealt Hernandez to the D-backs before the non-waiver Trade Deadline the following season, but he returned to Washington in August 2009. The righty's last big league season was in 2012, when he spent time with the Braves and Brewers.

Hernandez also said he was pleased with the ESPN documentary, "Brothers in Exile," which profiled him and his older brother, Orlando, who is also known as El Duque.

Livan and Orlando defected from Cuba, became quality pitchers in the United States and helped the Marlins (1997) and Yankees ('98, '99, 2000), respectively, win the World Series. The film, which was part of the 30-for-30 series, premiered Tuesday night on ESPN.

"The film was a good idea. You see what we did, how we lived and the life we lived before [defecting from Cuba]," Hernandez said via telephone. "All the sacrifices we did to get [to the United States] and play baseball, we shared it with everybody and that was a great idea."