FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Last week, Kiké Hernandez made headlines when he spoke on Chris Rose's podcast about the need to improve the Red Sox' "clubhouse culture'' in 2023, suggesting, in not so many words, that team chemistry was an issue in 2022.
On Monday, Hernandez was asked to explain his comments further.
"I just meant that we came into last place and it felt like we got comfortable being in that spot,'' said Hernandez. "I don't think this is an organization that should settle for last place. We are an organization that should be competing, year in and year out, and we need to find a way to get into that winning mentality. There was a lot of (roster) movement last year, there were a lot of kids that made their debuts who didn't know any better and things like that.
"We need to play more as a team. We need to be more vocal with each other and hold each other accountable a little more than we did last year.''
Toward that end, Hernandez helped to recruit former Dodger teammate Justin Turner, whom he believes can have an immediate impact in the clubhouse. Often, when players switch teams, it takes some time before they feel comfortable asserting themselves in a new organization. But Hernandez said that doesn't apply to Turner.
"Maybe for somebody else. But for a guy like him, I don't think so,'' said Hernandez. "We've already had a lot of talks about it and I told him, 'I want you to be who you are. I've talked to pretty much every position player on this team about you. Guys have been asking and I told everybody what to expect. This is part of the reason we're bringing you here. We want you to be yourself.'
"He's never been a guy that's had a problem with being that vocal leader. That's one more voice that we needed.''
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Hernandez said his training methods weren't affected by his position change from center field to shortstop.
"Honestly, it wasn't that much different,'' he said. "I wanted to get my body in a good position to stay healthy throughout the year. There were a lot of similarities between working out to get ready to play center and getting ready to play short. You don't have to run long distances as much (in the infield), but honestly, it was pretty much the same. I'm not the fastest of guys, so I still have to work on my jump, on my first step and quickness. I basically didn't change much. I don't like to change the way I train based on the position because it's only a matter of one guy coming in or going out for me to have to play a different spot.''
A good jump and quick first step were keys for Hernandez in center, and that will still be the case now that he's back in the infield.
"Absolutely,'' he said. "I took a lot of pride in my first step playing second base, as well. And without the shift, that first step is going to be huge because you have to cover a lot of ground (as compared to) with the shift. It's going to be fun.''
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Among the players in camp already: Masataka Yoshida, Nick Pivetta, Bobby Dalbec, Connor Wong, Alex Verdugo, Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck, John Schreiber, Zack Kelly and Ryan Brasier. Brasier threw live batting practice ... Both Alex Cora and Chaim Bloom are scheduled to meet with the media ... One club official said there are 32 players in major league camp who have not been with the Sox in spring training before ... A handful of Sox personnel -- Cora, third base coach Hernandez, Yoshida, and former Sox catcher Christian Vazquez gathered at a condo Sunday night to watch the Super Bowl between Kansas City and Philadelphia. Hernandez joked that he was unsure what was more difficult to explain to Yoshida -- the rules of football, or the nuances of Puerto Rican food.