3 players the Red Sox could’ve DFA’ed instead of Jeter Downs and Eric Hosmer
2. Darwinzon Hernandez
For several years, the Red Sox have tried to unlock this potential they see in Darwinzon Hernandez, and each season it’s essentially the same story: he issues too many walks, and he allows too many runs.
Due to injuries, Hernandez barely pitched for Boston in 2022, only throwing 6 2/3 innings across seven appearances. It’s too small of a sample size to judge by ERA, which came out to a whopping 21.60. Instead, look at what he did over those 6 2/3 innings. He allowed 16 earned runs on 14 hits. He gave up four home runs, after giving up five in 40 innings the year before. He walked eight batters.
It’s almost impressive how much he managed to do in such a small amount of time on the mound.
Between his 2019 debut and 2021, Hernandez posted a 3.66 ERA across 84 games, including one start and seven games finished. He barely allowed home runs before 2022, but his career 17.7% walk rate defies logic; league average is 8.5%.
Much like Brasier, the question is how long does the leash go? The Sox collectively gave up the ninth-most walks of any team in baseball this year. They came into the offseason knowing they needed to overhaul the bullpen, and have spent tens of millions on some impressive relievers, including Chris Martin, who owns the lowest walk rate among active pitchers (with at least 200 career innings); in other words, he’s essentially the anti-Hernandez. Keeping both of them on the roster is a zero-sum setup.
3. Kaleb Ort
Like Garrett Whitlock, Kaleb Ort was a Red Sox Rule 5 draft addition from the New York Yankees farm system.
Unlike Whitlock, Ort hasn’t managed to carry his Triple-A success up to the majors. Over 26 relief appearances this season, he allowed 23 runs (20 earned) on 35 hits, including four home runs. In 28 1/3 innings, he struck out 27 batters but also issued 15 walks.
Of the three pitchers on this list, Ort deserves the most patience. The Sox clearly saw enough promise to take him in the draft, and he hasn’t even pitched 29 career innings yet; his 2021 debut consisted of exactly one (scoreless) appearance, in which he recorded exactly one out. The 2022 Red Sox season was an absolute disaster for young pitchers. With so many concurrent pitching injuries, Ort was one of several rookies put in tough spots. Still, despite the trial-by-fire-esque season, his fastball velocity put him in the 88th percentile, and he has above-average vertical and horizontal movement on his 4-seamer and slider.
Unfortunately for Ort, his age puts him in a different position than his fellow rookie pitchers. Brayan Bello is 23, Zack Kelly is 27, and Franklin German just turned 25; Ort will be 31 in February. It’s safe to assume he has less time to prove himself than some of the other new kids on the block.
