With Boston Red Sox center fielder Adam Duvall on the shelf for the foreseeable future, expect manager Alex Cora to get creative with his lineups.
One move Cora has in his back pocket to fill the void in center now is to move Kiké Hernández from shortstop, where has has committed a league-leading five errors already, back to the outfield spot he manned last season.
Cora doesn’t see Hernández becoming a full-time outfielder again, though, as the 31-year-old will most likely split time between the two positions. Cora said he’ll also use Rob Refsnyder and Raimel Tapia in center.
“I already talked to Kiké,” Cora told reporters prior to Boston’s matchup with the undefeated Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. “Versatility comes into play now. He’ll see a few games in the outfield. We’ll move people around. That’s where we’re at.”
Cora added: “He’s done it before. Just read the cards and go to the spot and be an athlete. It doesn’t really matter where he’s at. We need him to be an athlete. Whenever we need him in the outfield, we’ll use him. Now it’s more about game situations. Probably move him around. He might start the game at short and then go to center field. Or the other way around. … He’ll be ready. He knows already.”
Cora said he wants to be cautious with the workload he gives Refsnyder in attempt to try to not have the backup outfielder “run into the ground.”
Cora revealed he will use Yu Chang and recently promoted infielder Bobby Dalbec at shortstop, especially with the Red Sox expected to face seven left-handed pitchers over the next eight games.
“It’s one of those just manage what we have and manage the matchups that we have and take advantage of it,” Cora said. “There’s certain days that we’re going to go for the offense. There’s other days we’re going to play run prevention. It’s a daily thing for now.”
