The Boston Red Sox has given itself great lineup flexibility.
The Sox on Friday reportedly reached an agreement with super versatile veteran Kiké Hernández, who has spent the past six years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mainly used as second base, Hernández can play anywhere on the field, except pitcher and catcher.
And for a Red Sox team that values versatility, Hernández offers them a lot.
So, this is where the Red Sox depth chart is located.
catcher
Christian Vazquez, Kevin Plawecki
First base
Bobby Dalbec, Michael Chavis
Second base
Kiké Hernández, Christian Arroyo
Third base
Rafael Devers
Shortstop
Xander Bogaerts
Jonathan Arauz
Left field
Andrew Benintendi
Central field
Alex Verdugo
Right Field
Hunter Renfroe
Designated Launcher
JD Martinez
As Hernández can play on the field, Martinez is no longer the fourth outfielder in fact. The Red Sox also have some depth in Dalbec and Chavis, as Dalbec can also play in third, as well as Chavis – who can also play in second.
Against a right-handed pitcher, the formation of the Red Sox as it stands now is likely to be something like this.
Alex Verdugo, CF
Rafael Devers, 3B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
JD Martinez, DH
Hunter Renfroe, RF
Bobby Dalbec, 1B
Christian Vazquez, C
Kiké Hernández, 2B
Andrew Benintendi, LF
As for a possible left-handed team, Arroyo can crush the left-handed shot, and this is Hernández’s favorite duel as well. Meanwhile, Benintendi has been worse against lefties than righties.
This might look like this.
Alex Verdugo, CF
Rafael Devers, 3B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
JD Martinez, DH
Hunter Renfroe, LF
Bobby Dalbec, 1B
Christian Vazquez, C
Christian Arroyo, 2B
Kiké Hernández, RF
Many balls remain in the air here, so this is a rough estimate. A lot can change. But the structure that Chaim Bloom seems to have in mind for building his list is increasingly in focus.
Miniature photo via David Butler II / USA TODAY Sports Images