Red Sox position players on the fringe of making 2018 Opening Day roster
By Paul Doran
MARCO HERNANDEZ; UTL INFIELDER
2017 with Boston: 21 G, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .276 BA/.300 OBP/.328 SLG (.628 OPS)
It’s easy to forget there even was a 2017 season for Marco Hernandez.
After only getting time in 21 games, Hernandez went to the DL with a left shoulder injury that ultimately required season-ending surgery.
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Hernandez began the season in AAA, but the Red Sox recalled him during the infield injury/deactivation flurry. He was originally recalled to play in the place of bereavement-listed Xander Bogaerts, logging 11 games in the middle infield. But, once Pablo Sandoval went down with his mid-April knee injury, Hernandez was moved to third base, playing nine games there before going down with his own injury.
His versatility as a middle-infielder made itself known, but so did his discomfort at the hot corner. In the games he did play at third base, he committed five of his six errors on the year. Woof. But, let’s put that behind us because his track in 2018 does not include third base.
Remember how I said that Pedroia will miss seven months? And how the best way to fill that need is by a platoon at second base? Hernandez would be perfect for that.
He sports a .284 lifetime average in MLB. Second base is his natural position, a position where he only committed one error there in 84.0 innings in 2017. If the Red Sox fill out the rest of the roster and are comfortable with mediocre offensive returns, then a platoon of the left-handed hitting Hernandez and righty Marrero is the way to go.
VERDICT: Starts 2018 in MLB, platoon at 2B.