Takeaways from the first week of Red Sox Spring training

Red Sox lefty Darwinzon Hernandez is showing flashes of brilliance

There’s a lot of words that can describe how Red Sox fans feel when they see Darwinzon Hernandez run in from the bullpen. Reassurance is not one of them. Since his debut in 2019, the lefty has shown flashes of swing-and-miss stuff, but he has absolutely no idea where it’s going. His 7.0 BB/9 is one of the worst rates in baseball and makes him unusable in high-leverage situations despite striking out batters at an above-average clip.

If you’re wondering if the Red Sox had any confidence remaining with Hernandez, their offseason moves should give you a pretty clear answer. They added lefty relievers Matt Strahm and Jake Diekman to a bullpen that already included Austin Davis and Josh Taylor. With four other left-handed options now in the Red Sox bullpen, Hernandez’s lack of control could make him the odd man out.

Despite the new options, the door is still slightly open for Hernandez. That’s mainly due to the announcement that Josh Taylor will not be ready for the start of the regular season. Hernandez is going to get his looks this spring training, and the early results are promising. He made his spring training debut on Monday against the Braves and struck out the three batters he faced, all of whom spent significant time in the big leagues last year. There’s a long way to go, but if Hernandez keeps pitching like this, he may be able to squeeze onto the major league roster.