Red Sox's Enrique Hernandez: Could be active on bases
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Red Sox manager Alex Cora cited Hernandez and Alex Verdugo as players he'd like to see steal more bags in 2023, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
Cora lamented the state of baserunning in baseball, saying the art is "at its worst" for a variety of reasons, but he would like his club to take advantage of the bigger bases, which will create a four-and-half inch reduction in the distance between first and second base and between second and third base. Hernandez attempted two steals (caught both times) last season but also missed a lot of time with a hip injury. The most he's stolen is four bags in 2019. The manager plans to emphasize the finer points of baserunning techniques during spring training.
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Red Sox's Enrique Hernandez: Could be starting shortstop
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Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters on Friday that Hernandez has a chance to be the starting shortstop for the Red Sox, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.
Hernandez will be playing in the infield after spending the majority of the 2022 season in center field. The versatile 31-year-old has played 100 games in his career at shortstop with 258 at second base. Hernandez should get plenty of playing time whether if he's the everyday option at short or not, but there's not going to be much fantasy relevance in his bat no matter where he's playing.
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Red Sox's Enrique Hernandez: Preparing for middle-infield role
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Hernandez is expected to move into a full-time role in the middle infield to begin the 2023 season with Trevor Story (elbow) expected to miss a significant chunk of the campaign, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.
Hernandez handled a utility role for most of his first seven years in the majors, but he's primarily manned center field since joining Boston ahead of the 2021 season. The Red Sox had earmarked Story for shortstop following Xander Bogaerts' offseason move to San Diego, but those plans are on hold after Story underwent surgery on his throwing elbow and is now set to miss a sizable portion of the upcoming season. With Boston signing Adam Duvall to a one-year deal Wednesday and set to install him as their everyday center fielder, Hernandez will turn his focus to the infield, where he could play regularly at either second base or shortstop. According to Cotillo, Boston is still expected to bring aboard another middle infielder this offseason, but any new arrival is more likely to affect the playing-time outlook of Christian Arroyo rather than Hernandez. Since he didn't play more than 11 games at any spot besides center field in 2022, Hernandez won't carry multi-position eligibility in most fantasy leagues entering 2023, but it shouldn't take long for him to gain eligibility at whichever middle-infield spot he ultimately settles.
Hernandez is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Blue Jays, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.
Hernandez started the past 21 games and will head to the bench after he posted a .227/.310/.280 slash line during that stretch. Jarren Duran, who was promoted from Triple-A Worcester on Friday, is starting in center field and batting leadoff.
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Red Sox's Enrique Hernandez: Moved down order
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Hernandez batted eighth and went 1-for-5 with two runs scored in Tuesday's 13-9 win over Baltimore.
Hernandez had returned to the top of the order for Monday's game when Tommy Pham was given the day off, and he had a couple of hits and three RBI. Pham returned to the lineup Tuesday and was back in the leadoff spot, sending Hernandez down to the lower third of the batting order. It's been a rough season for Hernandez, who missed the bulk of the summer with a hip injury. His batting average hovered around the .200 mark for most of the season before a recent push since Aug. 26 (25-for-94, .266) raised it to .225. Despite the down season, the Red Sox inked him for 2023, and Hernandez is expected back as the team's center fielder next year.
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Red Sox's Enrique Hernandez: Knocks in three in loss
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Hernandez went 2-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored in Monday's 14-8 loss to Baltimore.
Hernandez was back in a familiar spot, leading off for Boston as Tommy Pham was given the day off. He's been filling in regularly for second baseman Trevor Story, whose heel injury was expected to keep him out only a few days but eventually landed him on the injured list.
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Red Sox's Enrique Hernandez: Scores four runs
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Hernandez went 2-for-3 with a double, four runs scored, one RBI and two walks in Sunday's 13-3 win over the Royals.
Hernandez scored a run in each of the second, third, sixth and eighth innings, marking the first time this season he's crossed home more than twice in one game. He's collected multiple hits in four of his last nine games, but he went 0-for-15 in the other five. The 31-year-old is now slashing .227/.294/.356 with 43 runs scored and 28 extra-base hits through 78 appearances.
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Red Sox's Enrique Hernandez: Picks up four hits
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Hernandez went 4-for-6 with a double, an RBI single and two runs scored in Saturday's 17-4 win over the Orioles.
Hernandez knocked in Trevor Story on a single in the ninth inning, which turned out to be the final run in a 17-run game. Hernandez also scored on a Kevin Plawecki double in the fourth inning and an Abraham Almonte single in the ninth. Prior to Saturday's contest, Hernandez had five hits across seven games this month, and he nearly matched that total with the four-hit performance against Baltimore. With the big game Saturday, the veteran is slashing .310/.375/.448 for the month and is batting .226 on the season.
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Red Sox's Enrique Hernandez: Doubles in loss
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Hernandez went 2-for-5 with a double in Wednesday's loss to the Rays.
Hernandez recorded a double off lefty starter Jeffrey Springs to lead off the game but was left stranded. The 31-year-old's .637 OPS in 2022 represents his lowest mark since 2016. Hernandez's slugging has improved in his last 17 games as he has two home runs and four doubles for a .441 slugging percentage in 59 at-bats.
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Red Sox's Enrique Hernandez: Staying in Boston through 2023
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Hernandez agreed to a one-year, $10 million contract extension Monday that will keep him in Boston for the 2023 season, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Hernandez, who just turned 31, is having a bit of a down year while also missing time with a hip injury. However, his strong play in center field and ability to play the infield when necessary is part of what appeals to Boston. Hernandez is hitting .222/.287/.359 with six home runs, zero steals and 0.3 fWAR in 67 games on the final year of a two-year, $14 million contract.
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Red Sox's Enrique Hernandez: Not starting Sunday
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Hernandez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game versus the Rangers, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.
Hernandez is 9-for-26 with a home run, two doubles, five walks, five RBI and six runs over his past eight games, but he'll head to the bench Sunday for the second time in Boston's past four contests. Rob Refsnyder will take over in center field and bat seventh.
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Red Sox's Enrique Hernandez: Not starting Thursday
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Hernandez is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rangers, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.
Hernandez has an .855 OPS with a home run, two RBI and three runs over his past five contests and will take a seat in the series opener versus Texas. Rob Refsnyder will man center field and bat eighth Thursday.
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Red Sox's Enrique Hernandez: On bench Monday
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Hernandez is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Twins, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.
Hernandez will get a break after he went 4-for-11 with a home run and a walk while starting in all three games of the Red Sox's weekend series versus the Rays. Franchy Cordero will replace Hernandez in center field, the primary position Hernandez is expected to play moving forward after second baseman Trevor Story returned from the 10-day injured list Saturday.
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Red Sox's Enrique Hernandez: Goes deep in victory
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Hernandez went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and a walk in Saturday's victory over the Rays.
Hernandez homered off lefty starter Jeffrey Springs to lead off the fourth and give Boston a 5-0 lead. The second baseman has hit well in his last seven games with a .304 average and .565 slugging percentage in 23 at-bats. In addition, the 31-year-old has recorded one RBI or more in nine of his last 11 games.
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Red Sox's Enrique Hernandez: Takes seat Thursday
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Hernandez is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Blue Jays, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.
Jarren Duran will get a look in center field Thursday and middle infielders Christian Arroyo (leg) and Xander Bogaerts (back) are both in the lineup after one-game absences, so Hernandez will retreat to the bench after starting each of the past five contests. Though Hernandez has gotten off to a slow start at the plate since returning from the injured list Aug. 16 -- he's slashed .214/.233/.357 over seven games -- he should be locked into a near-everyday role for the rest of the season.
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Red Sox's Enrique Hernandez: Slides to shortstop
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Hernandez moved from center field to shortstop after Xander Bogaerts left Tuesday's game due to back spasms.
It's unclear how much time Bogaerts will miss -- he will not play Wednesday -- and the injury could present more shortstop starts for Hernandez. He's made three starts at the position in 2022 after making a combined 52 at shortstop and second base in 2021.
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Red Sox's Enrique Hernandez: Hits two-run homer
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Hernandez went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Saturday's victory over the Orioles.
Hernandez knocked in J.D. Martinez on a sixth-inning home run, his fifth of the year and his first since returning from the IL on Aug. 16. Hernandez has been productive in his last three games, going 4-for-14 with five RBI. The outfielder has also struck out seven times during that span, limiting him to a .211 batting average for the season.
Red Sox's Enrique Hernandez: Returns to center field
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Hernandez started in center field, batted ninth and went 1-for-5 with an RBI in Wednesday's 8-3 win over Pittsburgh.
Hernandez was activated off the injured list Tuesday and served at shortstop, as Boston manager Alex Cora gave Xander Bogaerts a rest day after fouling a ball off himself over the weekend. Hernandez should be the primary center fielder the rest of the season, but his days as the leadoff hitter appear to be over. He batted fifth Tuesday followed by Wednesday's slot at ninth, the first time he's hit at the bottom of the order in 2022.
