The Chaim Bloom era has been an up and down ride so far. The farm system needs to be replenished but most of Bloom’s moves can be described as tinkering around the edges. The newest singing by the Red Sox can be chalked up as that. Kike Hernandez is the newest member of the Red Sox agreeing to a two-year deal worth $14 million.
My question is why? How in the world is Kike Hernandez worth $7 million per year? Boston has a ton of depth already at second base. Jonathan Arauz, Michael Chavis, Christian Arroyo, and Hudson Potts are on the 40 man roster who can play the position. Sure, Kike can play all over the diamond. That’s not worth the extra $7 million.
The fact of the matter is, Kike isn’t a good baseball player. A year ago, Kike slashed a batting line of .230/.270./.410. Sorry, he stinks. Anybody who records an OPS+ of 83 shouldn’t be on your roster outside of a defensive minded catcher.
Worse yet, Kike doesn’t stink at hitting. He doesn’t get on base either. Kike ranked in the 5th percentile in walk rate. His numbers frankly stink across the board. Boston decided to give $7 million a year for a career .240 hitter that they could have found in the minors.
Why not bring back Brock Holt on a minimum contract if you want the utility guy back? Makes zero sense to me. Boston’s issue is pitching. The only hole in the infield is at second base. Even if you want to say that Kike will play the outfield, the Sox already signed Hunter Renfroe to be that extra outfielder.
What are we doing here? $7 million per year for a utility player that can’t hit or get on base? Jeter Downs is the future of the position. Why dump resources into anything that isn’t pitching at this point? Makes zero sense to me. I can’t get behind the Kike Hernandez deal for the Red Sox.
