The question to Chaim Bloom at the start of spring training was blunt in its directness: Can a utility guy really be the leader of a team?
The subject was Kiké Hernández, whom the Red Sox have pushed as one of their essential clubhouse voices.
"Does he have the résumé to do that?" WCVB's Duke Castiglione asked. "Xander's an All-Star. Kiké's talking about the culture of the team. Just two different things. He's a guy who's a multiple-position player."
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The question was fair in the sense that the Red Sox have suffered a considerable loss of institutional continuity since Bloom arrived, from Mookie Betts to Xander Bogaerts to J.D. Martinez to Nathan Eovaldi to Christian Vazquez and, most recently, Matt Barnes. All won World Series rings in 2018, and each set a clubhouse tone in his own way.
Now they're all gone, and the only superstar remaining, third baseman Rafael Devers, will need to grow into the role of franchise face. In the meantime, that leaves the Red Sox looking for leaders, even if they're not All-Stars or traditional everyday players.
Enter Hernández, who seems to be inheriting the role by default. He's experienced and battle-tested thanks to his Dodgers years, which included a World Series in 2020, but the core players on that team were Clayton Kershaw, Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner, Corey Seager, and of course, Betts.
Hernández played more of a supporting role in the style of 2013 Red Sox fan favorite Jonny Gomes. He can be a leader, but can he be the leader?
Hernández took the entire topic in stride on Twitter.
"Anybody know how to use LinkedIn?" he joked. "Need help with my resume."
Forget about 2018. Because only a dozen or so players remain even from the 2021 team that reached the American League Championship Series, the Red Sox find themselves at an experience deficit when it comes to the unique crucible that is Boston.
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Bogaerts eventually became the leader of the club and the voice of the team, but forging those skills took most of a decade. Devers hasn't gotten there yet, and a natural leader like Chris Sale must prove he's healthy and able to contribute every five days before his words carry much weight.
With nowhere else to turn, the Red Sox will rely on players like Hernández and Turner. They contributed to a winning culture in Los Angeles -- many believe those Dodgers were actually Turner's team -- and will be asked to build one in Boston.
So that brings us back to the original question. Is it fair to put that kind of weight on the shoulders of someone who didn't become an everyday player until 2021, hit just .222 during an injury-marred 2022, and will be at least temporarily manning a new position (shortstop) in 2023?
"From my standpoint, you can look at some of the really good Red Sox teams that we've seen here in the past, and the guys who set the tone in the clubhouse are not necessarily always the guys with the most All-Star appearances, or the longest résumés," Bloom told reporters in Florida earlier this week, including Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe.
It would be nice if they didn't have to start from scratch in that department, but the best chance of maintaining continuity walked out the door when Bogaerts signed with the Padres.
"It all depends on who is coming in," Bloom said. "From my standpoint, really over the last number of years, we brought in a lot of guys that I think are high-character guys that are really good guys in the clubhouse. I think we tried to focus on that this winter. I think we ended up bringing a lot of really good people to this group."
We'll see what updates they've made to their résumés come October.