How Xander Bogaerts, other ex-Red Sox have fared so far in 2023

How Bogaerts, other ex-Red Sox have fared so far in 2023 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

It's never good to dwell on your exes, but it's impossible to ignore what some of the Boston Red Sox' former standouts have done so far this season.

Xander Bogaerts headlines the list of ex-Red Sox who are off to hot starts with their new teams. The four-time All-Star, who signed an 11-year contract worth $ 280 million in the offseason, is raking with the San Diego Padres. His former teammates J.D. Martinez and Christian Vazquez have enjoyed early success with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins, respectively.

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Here's a full list of ex-Red Sox players with their numbers through the first couple of weeks.

Xander Bogaerts, San Diego Padres

Bogaerts has fit in perfectly with "Slam" Diego thus far. Through 12 games, the star shortstop is hitting .333/.426/.667 with four home runs and 10 RBI. He blasted his fourth homer in the ninth inning Tuesday night to cap off the Padres' 4-2 win over the New York Mets.

The Red Sox planned to replace Bogaerts at shortstop with Trevor Story, but the two-time All-Star underwent elbow surgery during the offseason and will miss most of the 2023 campaign. That forced utility man Kiké Hernández to move from center field to short, and the results have been anything but promising to this point.

Hernández is in the midst of an 0-for-27 slump at the plate and is hitting just .083 through 11 games. He has made five errors in the field. That won't sit well with Sox fans, especially with Bogaerts playing as well as he has.

J.D. Martinez, Los Angeles Dodgers

Martinez's days as a threat to hit 35-45 homers in a season probably are over, but he has shown in L.A. that he can still do damage at the plate. Although he only has one home run through 12 games, eight of his 12 hits have been for extra bases. The five-time All-Star and 2018 World Series champion currently boasts an .825 OPS with nine RBI.

Red Sox right-handed hitters are batting just .166 so far this season.

Nathan Eovaldi, Texas Rangers

Eovaldi has been solid through his first two starts with the Rangers. In his 2023 debut vs. the Philadelphia Phillies, the veteran righty allowed three runs on six hits and two walks in five innings and got the win. In his second start Friday vs. the Chicago Cubs, Eovaldi let up two runs on five hits and one walk through 5 2/3 innings and took the loss. He struck out six batters in both outings.

Christian Vazquez, Minnesota Twins

Vazquez has gotten the job done at the plate through his first eight games with the Twins. The former Red Sox catcher is hitting .320 with a .793 OPS, but it's what he's done behind the plate that has impressed his new teammates most.

“(Vázquez is) excellent at what he does,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli recently said, via The Athletic. “We knew coming in what we were getting on the catching side, but it’s the intensity, it’s the way he kind of forms the relationship with the pitcher — both pregame, middle of the inning — on the field. All these things he does, he does at such a high level.

“It’s actually really great to watch. The staff watches him, and you nod your head a lot when you see him do his thing. He’s had some big at-bats for us, too. He’s had some good swings on the offensive side, but the work he’s done with our pitchers, it’s been phenomenal.”

Michael Wacha, San Diego Padres

Like Bogaerts, Wacha has been stellar to start his San Diego tenure. Through two starts, the former Red Sox righty is 2-0 with eight hits and four runs allowed (3.00 ERA) in 12 innings of work. He has struck out 12 hitters and walked four.

Wacha is coming off an impressive season with Boston in which he posted a 3.32 ERA through 23 starts.

Rich Hill, Pittsburgh Pirates

Hill enjoyed a solid Pirates debut with three hits (two homers) and two runs allowed through five innings against the Cincinnati Reds, but took the loss. The 43-year-old southpaw got shelled in his second start, giving up seven earned runs on eight hits through four innings vs. the Chicago White Sox. The Pirates won that game, however, 13-9.

Matt Strahm, Philadelphia Phillies

During the offseason, Strahm expressed his desire to be used as a starter. The Red Sox didn't oblige, but the Phillies gave the left-hander an opportunity. Strahm has responded by not allowing a run through 10 innings pitched (three appearances, two starts). He has struck out 10 batters and walked only two.

Matt Barnes, Miami Marlins

Barnes has made four appearances out of the Marlins bullpen so far this season, allowing one run on three hits and two walks in four innings.

The reliever the Red Sox traded him for, lefty Richard Bleier, has let up two runs on five hits and one walk through four innings.

Eric Hosmer, Chicago Cubs

Hosmer predictably was released by the Red Sox during the offseason. The veteran first baseman was picked up by the Chicago Cubs with little fanfare, but he's off to a strong start to the 2023 season.

Through nine games, Hosmer is hitting .310 with eight RBI and a .773 OPS. The 33-year-old hit just .244 with four RBI and a .631 OPS in 14 games with Boston last season.

Red Sox rookie first baseman Triston Casas is slashing .161/.206/.419 with two homers and seven RBI in 11 games so far.

Hunter Renfroe, Los Angeles Angels

The Red Sox still miss Renfroe's right-handed power in the lineup. After belting 29 homers with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2021, Renfroe is scorching-hot to begin his tenure with the Angels.

Renfroe has a .268/.375/.537 slash line with three homers in nine RBI through 11 games. Those three homers came within a three-game span.

In his lone season with the Red Sox, Renfroe collected 31 homers and 96 RBI while posting a .816 OPS.

Franchy Cordero, New York Yankees

Bet you didn't see this one coming. Franchy Cordero had only one homer for the Red Sox in 2021 and eight homers in 275 plate appearances with Boston in 2022. Boston moved on from him over the winter, the Baltimore Orioles picked him up and DFA'd him, then the New York Yankees gave him a shot.

Cordero is tearing the cover off the ball so far in the Bronx. On Wednesday, he belted his fourth homer in seven games with the club.