Kiké Hernández will no longer start at shortstop, says Alex Cora
Hernández is on pace for the most errors by a major league player since Marcus Semien's 35 during the 2015 season.
Following Tuesday’s loss to the Rockies, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that Kiké Hernández is no longer the starting shortstop.
Boston’s skipper did say that Hernández may see some late-game action there if someone pinch-hits for Pablo Reyes.
The decision came one day after Hernández made his MLB-leading 14th error on Monday.
If the 31-year-old maintained his current pace, he’d finish with 33 errors on the year, the most by a player in a single season since Marcus Semien had 35 in 2015.
Prior to Tuesday, when Hernández didn’t play at all, he had played shortstop in 24 straight games, starting there in 22 of them. That stretch featured two two-error games for the utility man.
Hernández has struggled just as much this season when it comes to the advanced defensive metrics.
Baseball Savant gives him minus-10 outs above average, the second-worst for any player in baseball regardless of position, and Baseball Reference gives him minus-6 defensive runs saved.
While Hernández has always played better in the outfield or at second base in his career, he’s never struggled this much at short.
His previous high for errors in a season at shortstop was his three in 2017, and the only year he posted a negative DRS at the position was in 2019.
Luckily for the Red Sox, when Hernández has played in other spots this season, particularly center field, his defense has been stellar.
Moving forward, Reyes will get most of the starting action at shortstop. In 21 games between second and short this year, Reyes has committed just two errors, and is also hitting .288.
The Red Sox purchased Reyes’s contract from Oakland in May.
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