Who Will We See At Shortstop on Opening Day?
This Red Sox lineup looks very different from last year. Xander is gone, all big shortstops are off the market, and Trevor Story has just had UCL surgery and will miss time this season. The bad news keeps coming, but there are reasons to believe that there could still be compromises. There are still some trades that could be made and free agents who are still on the market. So with shortstop being the big concern, let’s go over some possible candidates for the Red Sox in 2023.
Willy Adames
The Red Sox have made it clear this offseason that they are looking to improve their starting rotation along with now needing a shortstop. The Milwaukee Brewers have both of these things. Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff could both be trade targets for the Red Sox given that they become free agents next winter and the Brewers are showing no signs of wanting to pay them. If a deal to bring in one of these premiere arms is possible, the Red Sox could also manage to include shortstop Willy Adames in the trade.
Willy Adames has been one of the more solid shortstops in the MLB for several years now. In 2022, Adames hit .238/.298/.458 with 31 home runs and 98 runs batted in. This kind of production could be what the Red Sox are looking for, given Adames’ 31 home runs was more than anyone else on the Red Sox roster in 2022. Not to mention, Chaim Bloom is very familiar with Adames from their time with the Rays. While there haven’t been any rumors of talks between the Brewers and Red Sox, this trade package could kill two birds with one stone.
José Iglesias
José Iglesias has a very real possibility of being brought back in 2023. Iglesias has already made several stops in Boston in his career. One being his time in Boston back in 2011-2013, and the other being his short stint in 2021. And once again, there are talks of the veteran shortstop making his return after a pretty solid 2022 season.
In 2022, José Iglesias had 128 hits for a batting average of .292. On top of this, Iglesias’ glove was stellar as always. Which is why he would be a great fit given there is no one occupying shortstop at this time in Boston. Marcelo Mayer seems to be the future of the position, but he won’t be making his big league debut until at least the end of 2024. José Iglesias could be exactly the fit the Red Sox need to hold shortstop down until Mayer is ready to take over.
Ha-Seong Kim
The Padres now officially have four shortstops in their lineup: Xander Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis Jr. Jake Cronenworth, and Ha-Seong Kim. With a lot of depth at the position in San Diego, it seems the Padres are ready to trade Kim. This is a golden opportunity for the Red Sox, given Kim is essentially as good as gone in San Diego.
In 2022, Kim slashed .251/.325/.383 with 11 home runs and 59 runs batted in. While not the best offensive stats, they are solid. But Kim’s excellent glove makes up a little bit for what the bat lacks, with a gold glove level of defense at shortstop. On top of all this, Ha-Seong Kim still has four years left of team control, which is huge to get from a guy which the Padres seem to be pushing out the door. If the Red Sox were looking for the right move, I’d say this is one of the top guys.
Christian Arroyo
Christian Arroyo is another real candidate for shortstop this coming year, which isn’t bad to say the least. Arroyo is a very solid player who the Red Sox treat as a utility guy. Which is unfortunate because Christian Arroyo has the potential to be a great player if he could get a chance to stick to a position throughout a whole season. He also is very unlucky with injuries, missing time last year from Covid and also being hit in the hand from a HBP.
If Arroyo gets the opportunity to start regularly at shortstop this season, I think we will see him improve vastly at the dish, along with being a nice glove at the position.
Kiké Hernandez
Kiké Hernandez is an all around great defender. Over his career, he has proven himself as a solid piece in any position on the diamond. With this being said, there is a possibility that he could be the starting shortstop on Opening Day. There’s a couple things worrisome about this. The main one being he is currently the Red Sox’s starting centerfielder. The other being that Kiké is the only good defender in the outfield.
If Kiké were to take over at shortstop, that leaves yet another hole in centerfield with Jarren Duran being the next candidate at the position. After today’s press conference to announce Rafael Devers’ 11-year extension, Alex Cora hinted at the idea of Hernandez playing a main role at shortstop in 2023. While nothing is certain, the loss of Trevor Story allows the ability to put Kiké at shortstop for the time being.
This offseason continues to be back and forth between negative and positive when it comes to Red Sox news. There is time to fix things, the season doesn’t start tomorrow. However, it’s time to see some things happen now, because Opening Day will creep up faster than we all think, and the Red Sox still don’t have a shortstop.
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