Boston Red Sox plan at shortstop may be coming into focus
By Kevin Henry
After an offseason of head-shaking news when it comes to the shortstop position for the Boston Red Sox, the franchise may now be looking internally to fill the position heading into spring training.
Boston Red Sox may already have the internal answer for their shortstop needs
According to reports, it appears that the Red Sox may turn to Enrique Hernández to handle the shortstop duties in the wake of Xander Bogaerts leaving in free agency and Trevor Story being sidelined for the start of the 2023 campaign after undergoing surgery to brace the UCL in his right elbow.
Some updates from Alex Cora: They're talking now about whether Kiké Hernández might fit at SS instead of CF. Depends on who they can add. ... Duran will play for Mexico in the WBC and Sale and Paxton doing well physically.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) January 11, 2023
In his nine MLB seasons, the 31-year-old Hernández has seen action at shortstop in 100 games. Eighteen of those have come in his last two seasons in a Red Sox uniform.
It may not the flashiest option for the Red Sox (especially in an offseason dominated by news about All-Star shortstops, including one who jettisoned Boston for San Diego), but Hernández is certainly capable of filling the role.
Hernández has 100 career appearances at SS but only 64 starts at the position. He has 9 defensive runs saved at SS, including 4 DRS in 18 games (8 starts) with #RedSox.
— Sean Penney (@spenney83) January 11, 2023
It's not his best position, but Hernández is a capable SS if Boston's best path to upgrades are at 2B and CF. https://t.co/WZihnKgLlu
If Hernández slides in at shortstop, the Red Sox will need to figure out who fills a position in center field that he would have occupied otherwise. It could be easier for Boston to find an outfielder than a shortstop, although José Iglesias, who has history playing for the Red Sox, is still available through free agency at shortstop. Don’t be surprised if Boston figures out a way to add a shortstop and keeps Hernández in the outfield.
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Boston’s infield has been in a state of flux throughout the offseason, and that may not change for weeks to come as the Red Sox figure out if plugging Hernández at shortstop will actually make the team stronger, or just weaken it in another area.