Family Man Watch: 2 Weeks In

Two weeks into the 2023 Boston Red Sox season, we find ourselves with several questions about the team. Of course, there aren’t many concrete takeaways after so few games, but that won’t stop me from asking anyway!

One of my absolute favorite jokes on sports Twitter is referring to an athlete as a “family man”. Essentially, the expression means that it’s time for the athlete to call it a career and go home to their family. Time comes for everyone. It’s unfortunate, but it’s part of life. When you look to our 2023 Red Sox, there are four glaring candidates for pending family men. Let’s take a look at them.

Chris Sale, LHP - 34 years of age

While Sale’s first start against the Orioles was a complete disaster, his second against the Tigers was a lot better! The ‘23 Tigers aren’t exactly the ‘27 Yankees, but Sale went out there and gave a decent performance. Things were looking up! Then, he got torched by the Rays. After barely pitching at all the last three years, an ERA over 11 is not what we we’re hoping for after Sale’s first 3 starts. His control has been a disaster and teams are hitting him hard. We’ll need to see more in the coming weeks, but right now we are reaching STRONGLY CONSIDERING that it might be time for Sale to be a family man.

Corey Kluber, RHP - 37 years of age

Much in the same vein as Sale’s first two starts, Kluber’s first was terrible and his second was much better! While 37 sounds quite old for a pitcher, Kluber actually doesn’t have as many innings (1595) on his arm as you might except. Mostly due to some injuries plaguing him in recent years, Kluber has only thrown about 270 innings since the start of 2019. While I don’t believe we’ll ever see Cy Young Kluber again, he is finally healthy and can probably be a fine middle of the rotation arm for the next two years. This could change is things go south, but right now, it is NOT time for Kluber to be a family man.

Enrique Hernandez, SS(?) - 31 years of age

Here is where things get unfortunate. Kiké has become an integral part of the Red Sox clubhouse after his breakout season and post-season in 2021. But since the clock struck midnight for the ‘21 Sox in Houston, it has been ugly for Hernandez. Hitting only .222 in 93 games last season while dealing with a serious back injury, Chaim Bloom brought Hernandez back on a one year “prove it” deal for 2023. But things have gone from bad to worse this year. Kiké is hitting a feeble .083 two weeks into the year while playing some horrific defense at shortstop. Of course, it’s early and Hernandez is pretty young, so he could still turn it around. But right now, we are LOOKING CLOSELY at Hernandez possibly being a family man.

Justin Turner, DH, 1B - 38 years of age

Turner was signed by Chaim Bloom to be a steady presence in the middle of the Red Sox order for the next two years, something he had been in Los Angeles for nearly a decade. But two weeks in, things look ugly. Turner, much like his dear friend Hernandez, has started the year in an incredible rut. With a batting average of .205 and an OPS of .591, Turner is simply not cutting it. Again, it’s early, but Turner is 38 years old. That’s pretty old! As we’ve seen literally thousands of times in the history of our beautiful game, once bat speed starts to go, that’s pretty much it. Right now, we are LOOKING EXTREMELY CLOSELY at Turner possibly being a family man.