After parting ways with Pete Rose in August following accusations during discovery for Rose’s own defamation lawsuit against John Dowd that Rose had a sexual relationship with an underage woman in the 1970s, Fox has apparently settled on new figures to join their MLB postseason studio show. According to Newsday‘s Neil Best, both SNY Mets’ analyst Keith Hernandez and former Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz will be joining Kevin Burkhardt, Alex Rodriguez and Frank Thomas in the studio on this year’s MLB on Fox postseason broadcasts:

Keith Hernandez’s cool been-there, done-that vibe long has been part of his charm. But later this week he will begin a new assignment that he admitted has him “really pumped.” “I just pinch myself,” he said. “I’m tickled to death.” Fox plans to announce Monday that Hernandez and David Ortiz will join its postseason studio cast with host Kevin Burkhardt and analysts Alex Rodriguez and Frank Thomas, replacing Pete Rose, with whom Fox parted ways in August …“I’m thrilled to death that I’m involved in this,” [Hernandez] said. “I understand that this is a big deal. It’s national TV . . . But it’s not like I haven’t done something like this before. I know the game and I’ve watched the show and it’s conversational and talking about the game.”

Hernandez has been a Mets’ analyst for SNY since 2006, and he certainly has plenty of playing experience from before that (plus a national broadcasting stint with The Baseball Network in the 1990s). He’ll also be working with one figure he knows well in Burkhardt, who worked on Mets’ broadcasts for SNY from 2007-2014. Hernandez will be adapting to the American League, though, as Fox has the AL playoffs, but he told Best he’s already been working to “buff up” on AL teams. And this explains the cryptic signoff from SNY Hernandez gave Sunday; he isn’t leaving permanently, just joining Fox for the postseason.

WHAT THE HELL DOES THIS MEAN?! pic.twitter.com/JujCT7ETLX — Good Fundies (@goodfundies) October 1, 2017

It will also be interesting to see how Ortiz does in this role. He has much less broadcasting experience, but much more experience with the AL. And it will be worth watching how the chemistry on the show develops minus Rose and plus Hernandez and Ortiz. The banter between the previous cast won plenty of praise, but Rose was a key part of that. We’ll see how Hernandez and Ortiz slide in there.

[Newsday]