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Boston Red Sox rumors: 5 players who should already be on the trade block

By Noah Yingling

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 27: Adam Duvall #18 of the Boston Red Sox in action against the Minnesota Twins during the fourth inning at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on February 27, 2023 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 27: Adam Duvall #18 of the Boston Red Sox in action against the Minnesota Twins during the fourth inning at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on February 27, 2023 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images) /
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Kiké Hernández, Boston Red Sox
FT. MYERS, FL – MARCH 4: Enrique Hernandez #5 of the Boston Red Sox fields a ground ball during the first inning of a Spring Training Grapefruit League game against the Houston Astros on March 4, 2023 at JetBlue Park at Fenway South in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /

4) Red Sox infielder Kiké Hernández

Kiké Hernández has spent the last two seasons with Boston and he has been valuable, particularly because of his versatility. He has played second, short, and center field for them. Now that Trevor Story is out for an extended period and Xander Bogaerts left via free agency, his versatility will help as he could play either spot. But another team could find that versatility helpful too.

In addition to those three positions, Hernández has also played left, right, third, and first base too. In 2022, he had a down year offensively (75 OPS+) but in 2021, he hit .250/.337/.449 with 20 home runs, 60 RBI, and an OPS+ of 108.

For this season, though, prospect Enmanuel Valdez could slot into to a similar role. The Sox acquired Valdez in the Christian Vázquez trade last season and he’s at Triple-A. He’s the club’s No. 18 prospect and in 2022 alone, he played (in order by number of games played) second base, third base, left field, first base, and right field.

If Hernández can produce at a similar rate to the 2021 season, a lot of teams would be interested. He also will be a free agent at the end of this season so he would be relatively cheap for a team to acquire before the trade deadline. The Red Sox can then turn to Valdez.

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