Besides exhibition action throughout spring training, a few Boston Red Sox players will get plenty of reps this month while participating in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
With 11 Red Sox representatives in place to partake in the fifth-ever WBC, including a few tournament newcomers such as Masataka Yoshida (Team Japan) and Jarren Durran (Team Mexico), expected key roster members will get an early shot as some high-intensity game action. Unlike your average spring training contest, rosters such as the Dominican Republic, United States and Puerto Rico will play the best of their star-studded lineups in a battle for the WBC crown.
But the WBC won't just serve as a showcase for what fans could expect from Yoshida as an everyday outfielder or Verdugo's offseason regimen applied on the diamond. It will also help provide a sense of how a few key leaders could be expected to guide the ship this upcoming season in Boston's dugout.
Rafael Devers, playing for the Dominican Republic and Kiké Hernández, returning for Puerto Rico, are both positioned to inherit pivotal leadership roles for their respective squads.
After yet another elite campaign from Devers in 2022, the Red Sox rewarded their homegrown talent with a massive $331 million contract extension this past offseason. Now embarking on his WBC debut, Devers joins a fantasy-like lineup alongside fellow stars Juan Soto, Manny Machado and Julio Rodríguez. This, to no surprise, landed them a spot as the oddsmaker's favorite team with +210 odds to win the tournament entirely.
This applies a sense of pressure, similar to what a superteam would expect in any other sport. However, it also allows Devers to become accustomed to taking on the role of a lineup leader. He's shown the ability to do so in the batter's box, hitting .295 with 27 home runs in 2022, but this upcoming season will be different. The Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez departures this past offseason, coupled with Devers' new deal, made it crystal clear that he is the face of the Red Sox for years to come. And with that comes the weight of leading the lineup on his shoulders in 2023 and beyond.
Similar to Devers, Hernández also inherits a leadership role. After Trevor Story, who was expected to slide in at shortstop following Bogaerts' departure, underwent offseason elbow surgery, Hernández became manager Alex Cora's next man up.
Hernández was the obvious favorite, having played 91 games at shortstop over the course of his nine-season career. Similar to Brock Holt during his time in Boston, Hernández has blossomed into the Red Sox's utilityman, playing in the infield and outfield wherever needed.
So, where does this leave Hernández and the Puerto Rico squad?
Well, Puerto Rico enters the WBC as one of the tournament's sleepers, with +1200 odds to win it all. They'll seek a third consecutive championship appearance, and like the Red Sox, won't have one of their former team leaders take the field along the ride. Former MLB catcher Yadier Molina, who previously served as the team's unofficial captain, leaves backstop duties up for ex-Red Sox Christian Vázquez. But with Molina out, Hernández could very well fill his shoes as the vocal leader in Puerto Rico's dugout as they seek their first-ever WBC championship.
Before the start of spring training, Hernández made it clear that he wanted the role as the Opening Day shortstop. And so far, he's taken it upon himself to be the team representative in helping establish an optimistic culture with the Red Sox following up on their bottom-of-the-division finish last season.
"We surprised a lot of people about ourselves (in 2021), and I think we're in a position to be able to do the same this year," Hernández said at Red Sox Winter Weekend in January. "Everybody's counting us out. It's almost like we have nothing to lose. I believe there's a lot of guys in that locker room that are going to be playing with a chip on their shoulder. When you have a lot of guys like that, things can get fun and we can be a dangerous team."
For those who forgot, Hernández was a major part of that 2021 run which ended just two wins shy of a World Series appearance. It became difficult to tell whether it was Hernández or David Ortiz in the batter's box as the right-handed hitter batted .408/.423/.807 with five homers and nine RBIs in 11 postseason contests.
With Puerto Rico, like the Red Sox, counted out in the WBC, Hernández can quickly apply that mindset in helping lead his fellow countrymen before rejoining Boston before the 2023 season kicks off on March 30.
