Red Sox Make Surprise Cut After Officially Announcing Justin Turner Signing

Boston could use a reliable left-handed bullpen piece

Scott Neville | Jan 6, 2023

Red Sox Make Surprise Cut After Officially Announcing Justin Turner Signing /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox improved the 2023 roster by adding a quality corner infielder/designated hitter whose numbers mirrored J.D. Martinez's last season.

Unfortunately, the club also shed some depth in an area of weakness in order to bring Turner onto the 40-man roster.

In a corresponding move for Turner's signing, the Red Sox designated left-hander reliever Darwinzon Hernandez for assignment.

Hernandez struggled mightily last season, allowing a whopping 16 earned runs in 6 2/3 innings, but has shown flashes of brilliance in seasons prior.

The 26-year-old posted a 3.17 ERA with a .195 batting average against, 30.2% strikeout rate and 150 ERA+ in 48 1/3 innings between 2020 and 2021.

That said, he also had a 1.51 WHIP and 17.6% walk rate during that span.

Hernandez has an electric pitch mix, but he's never had the control needed to be a high-leverage reliever.

Still, Hernandez is worth developing. Few pitchers possess as high of a ceiling, and he still is a fairly young pitcher.

The only remaining southpaws in the bullpen are newly acquired Joely Rodríguez and Josh Taylor -- who did not throw a pitch at the major league level last season due to a nagging back injury he sustained late in the 2021 season.

Boston is in desperate need of a left-handed reliever. While it makes sense for a roster undergoing an overhaul to shed a project player that has yet to truly work out, they would benefit greatly if Hernandez can sneak through waivers and decides to stay in the organization -- outside of the 40-man roster.

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Published Jan 6, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu