Sox may see pop

If anyone knows Jeremy Hermida as a hitter, it's Jim Presley. The former Mariners slugger has spent the past four seasons as the Florida Marlins hitting coach, helping transform a bunch of prospects and spare parts into one of the National League's most underrated offenses. From castoffs like Dan Uggla, Jorge Cantu, Cody Ross and Emilio Bonifacio to superstars like Hanley Ramirez, Presley has consistently gotten the most out of his hitters, leading the Marlins to the fifth-most runs in the NL this year. But if there's one player who never reached the heights forecast for him, it's Hermida. The 11th overall pick in the 2002 draft, he hit a grand slam in his first big league at-bat and compiled an .870 OPS in just his second full season before beginning a freefall that ended with the Red Sox acquiring him on Nov. 5 for a pair of middling prospects. So what kind of hitter did the Red Sox get? ``His bat was a plus, because he can swing a little bit,'' Presley said yesterday. ``He's had a lot of injuries and stuff that have held him back. He can swing. He's got some juice.'' Presley believes Hermida was limited by a series of injuries, particularly during the past two years when his lack of production made him expendable. ``He knows the strike zone. He knows how to take his walks,'' Presley said. ``He doesn't swing at balls out of the zone. That's going to help him in that league. ``He does have some pop. I think the power is going to come. He's had some things that nagged him here in the past. It's just a matter of him getting 550 at-bats and playing every day, although I don't know where that's going to be in Boston.'' There's also been the issue of expectations. As a first-round pick and one of the highest-paid players on the Marlins at $2.25 million last year, Hermida was being counted on to produce, but it never really happened. Expectations were particularly high in 2008, when Hermida replaced Miguel Cabrera as the team's No. 3 hitter, an experiment that lasted a month because Hermida hit .272 with two homers. ``He hit No. 2 for us most of the time, and having Miguel Cabrera behind him made a big difference. No one wanted to pitch to (Cabrera),'' Presley said. In the end, Presley understands why the Marlins dealt Hermida. ``Some guys just need to move on and get to another point in their career,'' he said. ``I think we have some young outfielders, four or five that are coming, and it was something we had to do. (President) Larry (Beinfest) and (GM) Mike (Hill) are trying to line up the next two or three years. Eventually someone was going to have to be traded, and this was just the first of it.'' Sox notes The Red Sox are closer to rounding out their big league staff. They recently interviewed Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson and organizational outfield/baserunning coach Tom Goodwin following the departure of bench coach Brad Mills, who was named manager of the Astros. Johnson and Goodwin - along with Lowell manager Gary DiSarcina - are not candidates to replace Mills, however. They spoke about other jobs which could open if first base coach Tim Bogar or third base coach DeMarlo Hale are promoted. . . . According to a report on csnne.com, the Red Sox have been rebuffed in their efforts to host the 2012 All-Star Game. The Sox had hoped to time the event with the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park, but according to the report, the game will instead go to Kansas City's recently renovated Kauffman Stadum. - jtomase@bostonherald.com