There’s plenty to nitpick with the 2023 Boston Red Sox. Even after taking five of six games from the Yankees over the course of the last week, they sit at 37-35, in last place in the AL East, and on the outside looking in at a playoff spot.

Still, one spot stands out among all else – shortstop. The season after letting four-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger Xander Bogaerts walk in free agency, things have been a nightmare at short for the Red Sox.

• Trevor Story, who signed with the team last offseason and spent 2022 at second base, figured to be the logical candidate to replace Bogaerts. However, he underwent offseason elbow surgery and is expected to be out through the All-Star break. The team would need to fill that spot in the meantime.

  Over the offseason, it seemed like Adalberto Mondesi would be the guy to take over the job. Acquired by the Red Sox in January via trade with the Kanas City Royals (the Red Sox sent Josh Taylor to KC in return), Mondesi was rehabbing from a torn ACL suffered in April of 2022 and was always expected to miss the start of the season, but was still expected to be a part of the team at some point. Now, that could be in doubt.

  “It’s not that he’s had a re-injury or anything like that. It’s more that we haven’t really been able to get him past that plateau to where we can progress him into game activity,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said late last week via

  Chaim Bloom on Adalberto Mondesi: “It's not that he's had a re-injury or anything like that. It's more that we haven't really been able to get him past that plateau to where we can progress him into game activity. We've been working hard to get strength back in that leg." cont'd

  — Ian Browne (@IanMBrowne) June 14, 2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MLB.com’s Ian Browne, revealing Mondesi has been shut down from baseball activity. “We’ve been working hard to get strength back in that leg.”

• READ MORE:

  — Tanner Houck placed on 15-day IL
  — Why can’t the Red Sox play defense?
  — Mazz on Trevor Story

• Without Story or Mondesi, former center fielder Kiké Hernandez had been the team’s primary shortstop for much of the season (he’d played 420 of their 600 defensive innings at second prior to being moved back to the outfield). Yet he hit just .228 while leading all of baseball in errors. Still, he continued to hold the job up until last week, when manager Alex Cora announced the team would explore other options at the position.

  Those other options have been limited. Yu Chang spelled Hernandez early in the season, but hasn’t played since April due to a hand injury. Christian Arroyo has played shortstop in the past, but the team has mostly kept him at second base.

  Over the last week, that’s left recent call-up Pablo Reyes at shortstop for the Red Sox. While Reyes has been solid defensively, he’s a career .247 hitter who doesn’t offer much in terms of power with a career .360 slugging percentage.

• Pablo Reyes, at it again. pic.twitter.com/WOLB8slqRJ

  — Red Sox (@RedSox) June 18, 2023

• Given the Red Sox are still chasing a spot, could they look to upgrade at shortstop in the six weeks leading up to the trade deadline – especially if Story and/or Mondesi are delayed coming back? If so, there’s one name to keep in mind.

  In his notebook on Friday, MassLive’s Sean McAdam wrote that “one official with another American League club reports that the Red Sox are asking around for some infield help, preferably someone who could play shortstop, second base or both.”

  “One name that’s been linked to the Red Sox: Oakland’s Aledmys Diaz,” McAdam continues. “Diaz is 32 and having a down year offensively (.525 OPS), but has experience all over the infield and only last year, was still good for 12 homers in just 92 games. And, obviously, the A’s are willing to move anybody and everybody.”

  Despite being way down the depth chart at this point, the Red Sox still have some options at shortstop. Will we get another aggressive deadline from Bloom, or will the team wait for recent acquisitions to get back on the field?

• Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at [email protected].

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