Rafael Devers makes stance with Red Sox clear following Bregman addition
The fit between the Red Sox and Alex Bregman seemed like a natural one.
In addition to being the kind of right-handed bat that can absolute rake at Fenway Park, and in addition to being a player with an undeniable winning pedigree from his tenure with the Astros, the 30-year-old Bregman also came to the Red Sox with some positional versatility, with Bregman drafted as a second baseman before becoming a Gold Glove third baseman with Houston.
But as a Monday afternoon availability down at the club’s spring training facility in Florida confirmed, it’s not a natural fit for everybody in the organization, with Rafael Devers making his stance clear on the potential complications that a Bregman-infused infield could bring to his own role.
“Third base is my position,” Devers said through his translator. “It’s what I’ve played. I don’t know what their plans are. I know we had a conversation [and] I made it clear what my desires were. Whatever happens from here, I don’t know, [but] my position is third base.
“I don’t know how they wanna go about it or what they wanna do, but that’s the position I get ready to play every day. It’s just my position.”
And when asked if he would be willing to move to designated hitter, Devers offered a simple “no.”
Devers’ unwillingness to move off third base is not new information, really, especially after Chaim Bloom promised Devers that they would not move him off third base when they signed him to a monstrous $300 million extension back in 2023. But Bloom is no longer in town, as noted by Red Sox manager Alex Cora when asked about that very promise made to Devers.
“Different people here, right?” Cora, referencing new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, said. “There’s a different leader here, so. Chaim is in St. Louis.”
“[Devers] has a lot of pride, we know that. He feels like he’s a third baseman, he’s gonna work out as a third baseman, and then we’re gonna make decisions accordingly,” Cora said of his club’s franchise player. “I think here, it’s not about Bregman or Devers or Cora, it’s about the Red Sox, and whatever decision we make is for the betterment of the team.”
Cora said that competition will decide what the Red Sox ultimately do with their lineup and their team, and noted that it was way too early to declare anybody a winner at any position. But if Devers is indeed dead set on being a third baseman and with absolutely zero flexibility when it comes to playing elsewhere, there’s no denying that he’ll have to show some serious improvement at the position.
Among 14 qualifying third basemen over the last four years, Devers has made a position-high 67 errors, with an 18-error ‘lead’ on second place. Bregman, meanwhile, has made 27 fewer errors over that span. Devers also ranked 13th out of that group of 14 with minus-37 defensive runs saved over that frame. And, again, Bregman had much better results in this stat, with a plus-9 that ranked seventh.
What’s interesting here is that Cora also by all means put Devers and his inflexibility when it comes to building what could be as an optimal lineup on the spot by referencing how Devers had been vocal about wanting to see the Red Sox make improvements in an effort to get back to a competitive status.
“I think at the end of the day, he was very vocal last year about the organization doing the things we needed to do to improve, right?” Cora noted. “We played .500 baseball last year, the front office did an amazing job so far adding talent. We’re trying to win here.”
Devers, who noted that he weighs 240 pounds now (a five-pound increase from what he was listed at a season ago), is coming off a 2024 season that featured 28 home runs, 83 RBIs, and an .871 OPS.
