Red Sox Confident Kiké Hernandez’s Best Yet To Come In 2023

It would be putting things lightly to say Kiké Hernandez has struggled for the Boston Red Sox in 2023.

In fact, Hernandez has been extremely disappointing in a season where the Red Sox's biggest issues have been defense and an inability to keep a lineup together. The 31-year-old leads Boston with 14 errors in 76 games, prompting Alex Cora to play him at shortstop, second base and center field.

Things got so bad that Cora decided to sit Hernandez for a three-game stretch leading into Thursday night's win over the Texas Rangers -- a move the veteran wasn't particularly fond of.

"I guess," Hernandez responded when asked if he felt the extended break helped him prior to his return, as seen on NESN's postgame coverage. "Sure, we can say that. I mean, agree to disagree."

Instead of sulking about his benching, the versatile defender went and fueled a Red Sox win.

Hernandez went 1-for-4 from the plate with a walk, scoring a pair of runs and driving in the game-winner with an RBI single in the seventh inning. He also got it done on the defensive end, shutting things down with a solid double play to end the ball game.

On to the next one! pic.twitter.com/z1klCyAq5q

— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 7, 2023

"It's not easy," Cora said of Hernandez's struggles postgame, as seen on NESN. "He works hard at his craft, he worked hard in the offseason and it hasn't paid off yet, but today was a huge one for us. He got that big RBI and made the double play to end it. I don't know if people have noticed, but he's been playing good shortstop as of lately -- the last few weeks.

"It's a good time to contribute, for him it's important because he cares about this organization and he cares about the team. He doesn't want to struggle. At one point,
he's going to get hot."

The Red Sox have reinforcement coming up the middle, meaning opportunities could come few and far between at shortstop for Hernandez. His defensive versatility should keep him in the lineup, however, giving him a chance to truly crawl out of the hole he's found himself in.

"Things haven't gone my way offensively or defensively. The opportunities have been getting more limited," Hernandez said. "Things just haven't gone my way, so I'm conscious that we have a lot of baseball left this season. I'm putting in the work, just trying to figure out a way of getting out of this hole. I think coming up big for the team is a step in the right direction."