Red Sox news: Alex Cora, Kiké Hernandez struggle with tough questions early

The media wasted little time asking the tough questions of the Boston Red Sox as pitchers and catchers began reporting for their spring training workouts on Tuesday.

It’s been a tough offseason for the Red Sox, a turbulent winter that, among other things, included Xander Bogaerts leaving the team for a massive contract in San Diego and questions about who might replace the All-Star at shortstop. Those questions (and plenty of others) spilled over into Tuesday’s media session at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Fla.

Enrique Hernández is expected to be the primary answer at shortstop for the Red Sox, filling the massive hole left behind by Bogaerts. It’s a plan that has evolved throughout the offseason and really began to take shape when it was announced that Trevor Story would miss the start of the season because of elbow surgery.

Boston Red Sox get tough questions as spring training gets underway

So can Hernández, who has seen action in 100 games at shortstop during his nine-year MLB career, including the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign when he helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win a World Series, handle the pressure of playing shortstop in Boston? That was the framework of an awkward question asked to Chaim Bloom, chief baseball office for the Red Sox.

But Hernandez isn’t the only one feeling the heat. There is also renewed pressure on Boston manager Alex Cora, who is once again in the crosshairs of those unwilling to forgive and forget the 2017 cheating scandal by the Houston Astros. A new book detailing the scandal is officially available and it’s likely to have Cora (who was Houston’s bench coach during the scandal-stained period) answering questions about 2017 well past today.

As a result of the investigation into the scandal, Cora was suspended for the entire 2020 season but was brought back by the Red Sox to manage the team once the suspension was over. The 47-year-old Cora will enter his fifth season at the helm in Boston when the Red Sox open the season at home against the Baltimore Orioles on March 30.