As the Boston Red Sox prepare to embark on a new season, without Xander Bogaerts, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom provided some clarity about where the organization could make a position change.
Bogaerts, who signed an 11-year deal with the San Diego Padres, spent the last nine seasons as the go-to shortstop for the Red Sox. After his 1,096 career-game run with Boston came to an end, the Red Sox could defer to an outside option to replace Bogaerts next season, which Bloom indicated on Monday.
Free agent shortstops Carlos Correa and Dansby Swanson could be targeted by the Red Sox if the contract were to be short-term, as opposed to the 11-year deal that Bogaerts landed.
“I certainly would not take that off the table,” Bloom told Chad Jennings of The Athletic. “I don’t want to and shouldn’t get too specific on what we wouldn’t consider with any free agent. I don’t think that’s appropriate, but I definitely would not take the scenario off the table.”
Yet, the Red Sox could also go in-house for middle infield reliance. One of those options, Kiké Hernández, will, however, be expected to remain in the outfield.
“Kiké is our center fielder, and that makes a lot of sense for us to go forward with,” Bloom said. “So, of those two, I would put Trevor (Story) at short, but I think we are looking at different possibilities.”
Hernández has played 18 career games at shortstop with the Red Sox and 58 games at second base while primarily serving as an outfielder for manager Alex Cora.
Meanwhile, Story made 722 starts at shortstop during his previous stint with the Colorado Rockies before making the switch to second base with the Red Sox last season. While he didn’t play any games at shortstop in 2022, the All-Star infielder — as Bloom suggested — would make the most sense if the Red Sox go in-house next season to replace Bogaerts.
