Kiké Hernández’s time with the Red Sox appears to have reached its end.
The versatile super-utility player, who played a key part in Boston’s 2021 playoff run before his role was diminished over the past two seasons due to injuries and underperformance, has reportedly been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for two pitching prospects.
Ken Rosenthal and Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic were first to report the news, which was subsequently confirmed by numerous other outlets.
The Red Sox will reportedly receive right-handed relievers Nick Robertson and Justin Hagenman in the deal. Robertson, 25, is ranked as the Dodgers’ No. 25 prospect according to Baseball America and has posted a 2.54 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 28.1 innings at Triple-A. The 6-foot-6, 265-pound Robertson has also made nine big league appearances and pairs a mid-90s fastball with a quality slider and changeup.
Hagenman, 26, has also enjoyed considerable success in Triple-A this season, boasting a 2.78 ERA over 55 innings with 60 strikeouts against 11 walks.
The trade ends a roller coaster run for Hernández in Boston.
Originally signed prior to the 2021 season, Hernández was fresh off helping lead the Dodgers to the 2020 World Series championship and enjoyed a productive first season in Boston. He tied for the team lead in wins above replacement (5.0) and enjoyed a historic postseason run, batting .408 with five home runs, nine RBI and a 1.260 OPS in nine playoff games to lead the Red Sox to within two wins of reaching the World Series.
He also successfully transitioned from the middle infield to center field, where he emerged as a defensive standout and as a Gold Glove contender.
Things took a sharp turn the following year, when he was limited throughout the first half by a core injury and a hematoma that eventually sidelined him for two months into mid-August.
Despite the setbacks, Hernández agreed to a one-year, $10 million deal late in the season and was subsequently installed as the starting shortstop following Trevor Story’s offseason elbow surgery. Though Hernández had prior experience at the position, the experiment did not go well.
Hernández committed 14 errors, including 12 throwing errors, and he hasn’t contributed offensively either, batting .222 with six home runs and an ugly .599 OPS at the time of the trade. His -0.7 wins above replacement is the sixth worst mark in baseball by a position player with 300 or more plate appearances, and eventually he lost his starting job, first to Oakland Athletics castoff Pablo Reyes and then to Yu Chang.
With Reyes’ activation on Monday, the Red Sox had a decision to make. Between Hernández, Christian Arroyo, Chang and Reyes the club had four middle infielders to fill three spots. A move had been widely expected for days, and Hernández wound up being the odd man out.
Following the trade Chang will remain the everyday starting shortstop until Story is ready to return and Arroyo will get the bulk of the playing time at second base. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said he expects Reyes will play against lefties most of the time and will play second and short with a little bit out outfield work.
Chris Sale threw a two-inning bullpen session on Monday morning and is next scheduled to throw live batting practice on Thursday in Worcester. If all goes well he could begin his rehab assignment next week.
Given the state of the Red Sox starting rotation, which has been down to three healthy starters for most of July, could Sale return to the big leagues sooner than usual to complete his build-up in Boston? Cora didn’t rule it out.
“That’s something we’ve been talking about, how are we going to do it, do we want him to come up here and go four (innings) after he goes three in the minor leagues?” Cora said. “There’s a chance but it’s nothing we’ve actually decided, we’ve just got to make sure he’s healthy first and we’ll decide what we’re going to do.”
Cora said Tanner Houck (facial fracture) and Garrett Whitlock (right elbow inflammation) are scheduled to throw bullpen sessions in the coming days, and Story (right elbow rehab), Reese McGuire (right oblique strain) and Corey Kluber (right shoulder inflammation) are set to continue their rehab assignments in Worcester.
John Schreiber (right teres major strain) and Brayan Bello (paternity leave) were both activated ahead of Tuesday’s game, following Monday’s activation of Reyes (right abdominal strain). Right-hander Justin Garza and left-hander Brandon Walter were each optioned to Triple-A.
Tuesday the Red Sox announced their 2024 spring training exhibition schedule, which will kick off on Friday, Feb. 23, against Northeastern University at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers. The Red Sox will open their Grapefruit League schedule the following day against the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota, and the club’s spring Grapefruit League home opener will be Feb. 25 against the Minnesota Twins as part of a split squad day.
The Red Sox will also play two spring training games against the Tampa Bay Rays in the Dominican Republic, with the matchups scheduled for March 9-10 at Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo. The series will mark Boston’s first international spring training games since 2008, when the club played the Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants in Japan.