With a little more than three months before Opening Day, he's the sum total of what we know about the Red Sox shortstop situation: Xander Bogaerts will not be, in the words of Rick Pitino, "walkin' through dat doah.''
Someone else will be at shortstop for the 2023 Red Sox. Beyond that, it's all very much up in the air.
Here's a look at some remaining options:
FREE AGENT MARKET
Dansby Swanson: Of the four elite shortstops on this winter's free-agent market, only Swanson remains unsigned. Carlos Correa went to the San Francisco Giants, Trea Turner to the Philadelphia Phillies and Bogaerts, well....you know.
That leaves Swanson, who has interest from the Chicago Cubs, perhaps the Los Angeles Dodgers and his former team, the Atlanta Braves.
For now, the Cubs look like the favorite. Not only are they itching to make an impact move, but Swanson's wife, soccer star Mallory Pugh, is a member of the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women's Soccer League.
And having offered Bogaerts $167 million to remain in Boston, will the Red Sox be willing to pay more than that for a player who's not as good as Bogaerts? That seems doubtful, though Jon Heyman of the New York Post tweeted Thursday that the Sox were "seriously considering,'' Swanson.
Swanson is elite defensively, though streaky offensively. He'd be an upgrade over almost anyone else currently available. But the financial parameters seem off-putting from here.
Elvis Andrus: Andrus enjoyed a bounce-back season after being moved from Oakland to the White Sox, slashing .271/.309/.464 with nine homers in 43 games, while basically playing league-average shortstop. At 34, he could be a two-year stop-gap while the Red Sox wait for Marcelo Mayer to develop. Still, from a PR standpoint, he'd be a tough sell in this market.
TRADE MARKET
Willy Adames, Milwaukee Brewers: There are conflicting reports about the availability of Adames. The Brewers do seem to be in cost-cutting mode heading into 2023. Since the trade deadline, the Brewers have moved closer Josh Hader, outfielder Hunter Renfroe and infielder Kolton Wong, and that may be enough to trim their payroll. Adames has a strong 2022 season, with a .458 slugging percentage to go along with 31 homers. Adames also enjoyed his best season defensively, with nine defensive runs saved. He's under control for two more seasons, which again, would line up with Mayer's potential arrival in 2025. He'd be costly in terms of prospects, but an argument could be made that he'd be worth it.
Tim Anderson, Chicago White Sox: According to most defensive metrics, Anderson is well below-average, though those numbers could be suspect. There's little doubting his offensive capability (he had three straight seasons before last year in which his OPS was .806 or greater). Anderson is signed for 2023 ($12.5 million) with a $14 million option for 2024, so again, that timetable would line up nicely for the Sox. But there's also some question about whether the White Sox would move him. But for two years, he'd be a nice stop-gap.
Ha-Seong Kim, San Diego Padres: Kim played shortstop last year when Fernando Tatis Jr. was injured (and later suspected for PED use), but is being moved off that spot now after the team signed...well, you know. For now, Kim is ticketed for second base with Jake Cronenworth sliding to first, but when A.J. Preller is your GM, no player is untouchable. Kim is an exceptional defender with 19 defensive runs saved at short in the last two years, though he's rather below-average offensively (.708 OPS). Still, a double play combination of Kim and Trevor Story in the middle of the diamond would be tough to beat.
INTERNAL OPTIONS
Trevor Story: After downplaying the possibility of Story returning to his original position for months, the Red Sox are now open to it. There remains some question about Story's arm strength after a forearm injury he suffered in 2021, his final year in Colorado. There's little doubt about his range and athleticism. But as with any internal option, shifting Story to short simply creates another opening -- in this case, second base. Unless the Red Sox envision Christian Arroyo as the full-time option there, this counts as solving one problem, but resulting in another.
KikΓ© Hernandez: There's less of a track record here than with Story. While Story has played 733 games in the big leagues at short, Hernandez has played just 100. Could he handle it? Most likely, though that will require some projection on the part of the Sox. In an admittedly extremely small sample size at short last year (10 games), Hernandez saved two defensive runs. But again, moving Hernandez from center to short would result in another important position opening up -- center field -- with no obvious replacement on hand. By sheer number, it might be easier to find a suitable center fielder than a shortstop. But with little left on the FA market, it would almost certainly result in a trade for an outfielder.