MLB Rumors: Cardinals trade interest, Red Sox surprise move, Astros target
By Mark Powell
MLB Rumors: Will the Red Sox DFA Kiké Hernandez?
It’s been a rough season for Kiké Hernandez, who may very well be in his final days with the Boston Red Sox. Hernandez can play multiple positions, and thus has a spot coming off the bench for a viable contender. However, his bat is usually more of a weapon than its proven to be this season.
Chris Cotillo, Red Sox beat writer for Mass Live, theorized that Boston could decide on Hernandez’s future sooner rather than later.
“Red Sox have not been afraid to shake up the roster coming out of the break before. In 2021, Duran and Houck were called up on the first day of the second half. Have to wonder if Kiké Hernández is DFA by the time they get to Wrigley,” Cotillo wrote on Twitter.
For what it’s worth, Hernandez has been catching heat all season on Boston sports radio. As recently as last week, 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Tyler Milliken highlighted just how poor Hernandez has been playing of late:
"“Because how bad of a look would it be? They got Pablo Reyes coming back after the All-Star break. Yu Chang is your starting shortstop because he can actually play the position, he’s never going to hit, but he can play the position. And Christian Arroyo. When his roster spot was on the line. What has he done? He’s hit .315 over his last seven games and had big hits. There’s one guy you look at, the guy they gave a reset and when he came back, what does he do? He makes another throwing error at shortstop. 15 on the year, 14 throwing,” Milliken said."
So, yes, Boston’s other options at shortstop without Tyler Story aren’t great, but they could surely produce more than Kiké has this season, and that’s what counts. If the Red Sox are serious about contending for the AL Wild Card, something must be done.