A Swing In Fortune For Red Sox’s Hernandez

FORT MYERS, Fla.—Shortstop Marco Hernandez didn’t object when the Cubs asked him to try switch-hitting. Anything to help him reach the big leagues, he thought at the time.

But after the 2013 season, when Hernandez batted .254/.287/.338 in 111 games at low Class A Kane County, he returned to his natural lefthanded swing on a full-time basis.

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“I’m a natural lefty,” said Hernandez, 23. “I talked to the coaches and I said, ‘Hey, I want to hit just from the left side. I want to develop my skills as a lefthanded batter.’

“Robinson Cano hit well against lefties. I saw how he approached lefthanded pitchers, and I said, ‘I can do that, too.’ ”

That decision to master one swing, rather than try to learn two, laid the groundwork for a breakout in 2015, but it was the Red Sox, not the Cubs, who benefited. Boston acquired Hernandez in December 2014 as the player to be named for lefthander Felix Doubront.

Hernandez last season hit .305/.330/.454 with 45 extra-base hits, including nine homers, in 114 games at Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket. The Red Sox added him to the 40-man roster in November.

“I was really surprised when they put me on the roster,” said Hernandez, who signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2009. “I know I had a good year, but I thought they had too many good players here.

“I was playing winter ball (when) they called me to say, ‘Congratulations, you’re going to be on the roster.’ I couldn’t say anything.”

Hernandez’s combination of middle-infield defensive skill and a lefthanded bat with some thump point to a future as a utility player, with the potential upside of a bottom-of-the-lineup starter.

“There’s a lot to like here for a guy we got for Doubront,” big league manager John Farrell said. “He’s a lefthanded bat with line-drive, gap power and some speed to steal a base. He’s a good-looking young player.”

SOX YARNS

• Righthander Michael Kopech required the insertion of a screw into his right hand as a result of a fracture suffered in a spring fight with a teammate. He won’t be able to throw until late April.

• First baseman Sam Travis impressed Farrell with his “lightning hands and compact swing” while going 13-for-22 (.591) with two doubles and two homers to open big league camp.