Kiké Hernandez’s sad IG story sums up Xander Bogaerts departure for Red Sox fans

There are no words to describe Xander Bogaerts’ departure in free agency. Boston Red Sox fans are deflated, devastated, shocked. It might not have been as bad if positive reports about the two sides making progress didn’t surface from earlier on Wednesday, but that detail just twisted the knife.

As the Winter Meetings approached their conclusion, Kiké Hernandez was among the most concerned players about Bogaerts’ situation. His tweet from the afternoon had Sox fans reeling.

But then came his Instagram activity. A few hours before Bogaerts signed, Hernandez posted a picture of Bogey, Devers and himself to his IG story, perhaps to drum up hope the Red Sox star would stay.

Three hours later? Uhh … let’s just say the tone and photo selection weren’t the same. Hernandez’s emotions took centerstage.

In the form of a poorly drawn sad face. In white coloring. On a fully black background. Through the use of Microsoft Paint, Hernandez summed up just about how everybody was feeling, especially those on the east coast who were up late enough to learn about the awful news after midnight.

Kiké Hernandez’s Instagram story about Xander Bogaerts is every Red Sox fan

The literal definition of sad. In today’s day and age, this could be considered a masterful piece of artwork when realizing the stakes and scenario. Well done. Frame it.

For Sox fans, it’s encouraging to see discontent from a player. Boston’s been hit or miss in that department, lacking the necessary personalities in recent seasons (2021 notwithstanding) to foster the right energy. 

David Ortiz has been doing a lot of the talking from the sidelines, but it hasn’t brought the results some upset celebrity personalities, such as Bill Simmons, were hoping for.

Hopefully Chaim Bloom and the Sox ownership group learned a lesson after Bogaerts’ departure. No team is above its star, homegrown players. They need the players more than the players need the team.

Abandoning the human element, which was seemingly the ENTIRETY of Boston’s DNA for the better part of 2004-2018 (resulting in four championships), is rarely a winning tactic.

Mookie Betts, gone. Xander Bogaerts, gone. Andrew Benintendi, gone. Christian Vazquez, gone. Rafael Devers, you can’t think he’s staying! That would still be an incredible winning core to this day! All the Sox had to do was pony up the cash and/or maintain belief they’d remain productive.

Willingly tearing down a winner. You’ve probably never seen anything like this. And you’ll hopefully never see it again.

Kiké Hernández’s Xander Bogaerts tweet has Red Sox fans spiraling

Red Sox player Kiké Hernández whipped fans into a frenzy when he tweeted about Xander Bogaerts amidst reports he's close to a new deal with the Sox.