Rafael Devers move from third base could unlock Red Sox offseason appeared first on NBC Sports Boston
Could Rafael Devers Move From Third Base?
Craig Breslow could have already dismissed the question, but he answered carefully and consistently all fall.
“We haven’t had those conversations,” Breslow said in September. “Those conversations, if they were to happen, would certainly be done internally before I talk about them here.”
It’s not exactly a denial, and Breslow has since repeated some version of that answer. Maybe we already know why. It certainly sounds like a discussion between player and team is looming that could have major implications for the 2025 season.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post and Sean McAdam of MassLive recently reported that the Red Sox are open to moving Devers, likely across the diamond to first base, but possibly to designated hitter. Despite having an excellent game, Devers provided poor defense overall throughout his career.
As the Red Sox evaluate how to hit .500 for the first time since 2021, the glove in the field clearly comes first, and Devers has contributed to the brutal metrics.
He just led the American League third baseman in errors for a record seventh straight season and is the active leader in that ignominious measure with 141. His advanced stats aren’t much better, with negative runs in every year except the outlier of 2019. He’s scored six runs. worse than the average for just last year.
Really, the only reason for keeping Devers at third at this point is to not offend the team’s highest paid player. Anyone else with his history of defensive mediocrity would have been benched or moved elsewhere by now, but most players with his defensive resume don’t make $30 million a year.
If it happens late now, the Red Sox have options.
They have been linked to free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, who just won his first Gold Glove with the Astros and is also willing to move to second base. According to McAdam, they could consider St. Louis Nolan Arenado, a 10-time Gold Glove who is one of the best defenders of this generation. He would have to be acquired in a trade, as his nine-year, $275 million contract runs through 2027. It’s also worth noting that his production has dropped significantly over the past two seasons, but he would still be a huge upgrade on defense. on Devers and his right-handed power would tie the lineup.
The third option is free agent shortstop Willy Adames, who has expressed a willingness to move to third.
If Devers moves, dominoes start to fall. He could take over first base duties and make young slugger Triston Casas available in a trade. But Breslow sounds understandably reluctant to trade Casas, as the youngster boasts 40-homer power and is well ahead of his prime. That means Devers or Casas could move to DH and make incumbent Masataka Yoshida expendable, even though he has three years and more than $50 million left on his contract.
Considering how little money the Red Sox got for Yoshida — 1.4 WAR each season and averaging 12 homers and 65 RBI per year — perhaps they could go back to business and use their financial resources to cut losses. about overpaid underperforming players.
In other words, Yoshida shouldn’t be a hindrance to Devers’ movement, and his presence definitely shouldn’t contribute to a Casas trade.
Before that discussion leaves the land of hypotheticals, however, the Red Sox will need to talk to Devers about a move. And reading the tea leaves, it sure sounds like that conversation is coming.