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The Kiké Hernandez-at-shortstop experiment isn't completely coming to an end, but it does appear to be winding down.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced prior to Tuesday night's game that Hernandez will no longer be Boston's everyday shortstop moving forward. Pablo Reyes will see more starts at short, as will Yu Chang once he returns from the injured list, which is expected to happen soon.
Cora said Hernandez will be used more as a utility player, getting more time at second base and in center field, in particular. He is still expected to get some time at short, too. Hernandez had started at shortstop in 46 of the Red Sox' 67 games this season, but has committed an MLB-leading 14 errors. It's a problem that has not gotten better, with Hernandez committing five of those errors just in the last 14 games.
The 29-year-old Reyes is more of a utility player than a true shortstop, too, but he has been better defensively this season than Hernandez and hasn't really been any worse offensively (he has a .647 OPS this season vs. Hernandez's .652). Cora did say that he doesn't see Reyes as an everyday player, either.
Chang, who has been out since April 24 with a left hamate fracture, is probably the Red Sox' best defensive shortstop, but he was hitting just .136 with a .515 OPS through 17 games. That level of offense would likely prevent him from being an everyday starter, too, so it's possible Cora settles into some sort of rotational approach.
Trevor Story could potentially return as a designated hitter sometime next month, but he's not expected to be ready to play shortstop until August as he recovers from right elbow surgery. Adalberto Mondesi, another potential shortstop option, has been shut down from baseball activities, Cora said Tuesday. Mondesi is recovering from a torn ACL and appears to still be a long way from playing.
Cora's search for better defense is also resulting in a change at first base, where Justin Turner will now get more starts than Triston Casas, who will shift to more DH'ing. Cora noted that the Red Sox are not giving up on Casas, but that "there's a few things that he's not doing" and that they're "working with him" to improve his defensive play.
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