The Boston Red Sox offense has fallen into a miserable slump. The lineup has mustered a mere two runs through the first two games of their series in Tampa Bay. After bursting out of the gate with a historic series to open the season, Boston has scored two runs or fewer in four of their last seven games.
The loss of Adam Duvall, who was carrying this offense while sitting at the top of the league in several offense categories when he fractured his wrist at the end of the series in Detroit, has created a void in the middle of the lineup. Boston clearly misses the threat of his bat but Duvall's absence doesn't full explain why most of the lineup has stopped hitting.
No player represents Boston's struggles more than Kiké Hernández. The veteran's production didn't simply stall, he never really got going this season.
Red Sox shortstop Kiké Hernández is off to a rough start
Hernández is 3-for-36 to open the season and he's mired in an 0-for-27 slump. His putrid .083 batting average is the worst in the majors among hitters with at least 30 plate appearances, per FanGraphs.
“When you go over a week without a hit, it’s going to be tough at any point of the year, no matter when it is,” Hernández said, per MassLive's Chris Cotillo. “Just plain and simple, it sucks. I need to be better.”
A difficult stretch at the plate will weigh on a hitter at any point in the season but it must be a deflating feeling to have that abysmal batting average staring back at you from screens plastered around the ballpark. Hernández will undoubtedly improve but he's done little to spark optimism that he's on the verge of a breakout.
Despite an absurdly low .048 BABIP, Kiké's struggles can't be chalked up to bad luck on balls in play. He's striking out at an alarming rate with a 30.2 K% that nearly doubles last year's 17.7%. Hernández is in the 76th percentile in chase rate while producing a career-high 33.8 Whiff percentage.
When he does put the ball in play, Hernández isn't making quality contact. He ranks in the 12th percentile in average exit velocity and the 11th percentile in Hard Hit%, per Baseball Savant. You could argue that his batting average shouldn't be quite as low as it is, but his .133 XBA (expected batting average) still places him in the bottom one percent of the league.
It's still early in the season so the sample size remains small, but Hernández simply isn't providing competitive at-bats. His season won't turn around until he improves the quality of his plate appearances.
As dismal as he has been at the plate, Hernández has been even more disappointing in the field. Since his arrival in Boston in 2021, the Red Sox have been able to count on Kiké to provide elite defense at second base or center field, ensuring he delivers value even when his bat is slumping. That hasn't been the case since he moved to shortstop this season.
Hernández has already committed a league-leading five errors. He's near the bottom of the league at his position with -2 defensive runs saved and dead-last at any position with -4 Outs Above Average.
To say that Hernández is off to a slow start would be an understatement. He's been a massive liability to the offense and the defense.
The Red Sox are searching for a glimmer of hope with Kiké Hernández
If you look hard enough, you can find the slightest spark of optimism that Hernández can turn his season around.
He only has three hits this season but two of them are home runs, proving his power hasn't completely abandoned him despite the concerning Statcast data. His other hit was an opposite field single. The notoriously pull-heavy hitter has been going the opposite way at a significantly higher rate this season with a 43.5 Oppo% that nearly doubles his career rate. The ability to spray the ball to all fields is typically a good trait.
The strikeout rate is concerning but Hernández has somewhat balanced it with a career-high 14% walk rate. If he can cut down on the strikeouts while continuing to draw walks at a healthy clip, his on-base percentage will take a significant leap.
There's no sugarcoating how terrible he has been in the field but we can't overlook that Hernández is adjusting to a position he has limited experience at. Versatility has always been one of his strengths but he only has 111 career games at shortstop and he hasn't spent more than 20 games at the position in any season since 2018.
Hernández has the physical tools to be a quality shortstop but still needs time to adapt to his new role. He's proven himself to be an excellent second baseman but covering shortstop is a different animal. The ball comes off the bat at a different angle, the throws to first base are longer, and the responsibilities of covering the bag or making the exchange on a double-play are reversed. The pressure of switching positions could be having a ripple effect that is hindering his offensive performance. Once he settles in at shortstop, Kiké should be able to get more comfortable at the plate.
We know that Kiké is capable of recovering from a slow start because we've already seen it. During his first season with the Red Sox, manager Alex Cora experimented with using Hernández in the leadoff spot. He had limited experience in the role but Boston's options at the top of the order were even more limited. Hernández struggled to the tune of a .230 average through April, forcing Cora to temporarily drop him in the order. Hernández eventually found his comfort zone and went on a tear during the second half of the season. His .361 OBP after the break ranked 16th in the AL and he was 28th with a .472 SLG during that stretch. He capped his second-half surge with an unforgettable postseason in which he blasted five home runs and racked up 10 extra-base hits to lead the Red Sox to the ALCS.
So, we have a track record of a player who struggled to adapt to a new role but eventually found his footing and thrived. Kiké needs to do better at the plate and in the field. He knows it, just as we know he's capable of it.