Article: Who’s the Red Sox Third Baseman? It's Messy

[Davy Andrews]

After two days of dueling quotes, we have a much better idea of who wants what and how things are likely to turn out. But that doesn't mean that things will go smoothly.

So maybe you were busy on Monday and Tuesday. Monday was a holiday, and maybe you just took Tuesday off from paying attention to spring training. That would be totally fine. Very little that truly matters is happening right now. However, if you love drama, then I’m so sorry for your loss, because the past two days were extremely weird and messy. Allow me to catch you up.

On Monday, the Red Sox had a meeting from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM. Then practice started. Around 12:30, Rafael Devers – simultaneously one of the league’s best overall third basemen and the league’s absolute worst third base defender – took questions from reporters alongside translator Daveson Perez. Let me hit you with some highlights:

“My position is third base.”

Asked Dan Shaughnessy, if the team asked Devers to DH, would he do it?

“No. I play third.”

What if they insisted?

“No.”

Devers then revealed that Craig Breslow and Alex Cora had met with him on Friday to broach the subject of moving to DH.

“They asked me the question about how I feel about DH, and yeah, I gave them the answer I just gave: ‘No.’”

What about first base?

“No.”

First of all, let’s give Devers credit for honesty. He wants to play third base. He believes he can hold the position down. He’s being direct and honest. Second, he said plenty of other, less grabby things. He said, “We all know that this team drafted me and I’ve been here my entire career and I am Boston Red Sox through and through….I’m open to listening and hearing what they have to say moving forward.” He also said that when he signed his 10-year deal in January 2023, it was to play third base: “That was definitely what was discussed when I signed, that I would be playing this position for a long time.” He went on, “I believe people’s word and I take it to heart, so it was very surprising that they would suggest that [moving to DH]. Since the beginning, I have known that this is a business and I’ve known that each side is going to do what’s comfortable to them. I don’t think that this is the right way to do business.”

For the most part, Alex Cora and Alex Bregman, the two other main characters, did their best to defuse the situation. Cora declined to comment on Devers’ comments on Monday. Then on Tuesday, he repeatedly touted the strength of his relationship with Devers. He told reporters that he’d invited both Bregman and Devers over to his house to chat for 45 minutes on Monday night. After batting practice, Devers and Bregman fist bumped in full view of the writers.

In the afternoon, Bregman offered reporters a grand bouquet of bland affirmations: “I’m super excited just to be his teammate. He’s a great player. I think everybody in this clubhouse is worried about winning….I’ll play wherever AC tells me to play.” He kept talking for quite a while, but you get the point. Bregman has never been the most genuine player when it comes to addressing the public, and he came out and said all the things you’d expect while dodging the question of where he thinks he should play. Masataka Yoshida, who would be the odd man out were Devers to move to DH, chimed in: “My job is to give it all my best, whatever my job calls for. If that is to DH or that is to play the outfield, I’m giving it my best.” It sounded like the drama was just about over.

Then things got hairy again. Speaking about Devers, Cora said, “He feels like he’s a third baseman.” This is an incredible quote. Cora could have just said that Devers is a third baseman. He would’ve been telling the truth. He could have just said the obvious, that Bregman is literally a reigning Gold Glover. Instead, he went with feels like. It’s a work of passive-aggressive artistry.

Cora didn’t stop there. When asked about the promises made to Devers, he got right to the heart of the matter, “Different people here, right? There’s a different leader here. Chaim [Bloom] is in St. Louis right now.” That’s not mincing words, and it’s not accidentally getting passive-aggressive. It’s saying very clearly that the Red Sox do not in any way feel bound by the promises they made to Devers. I don’t think that’s an indefensible argument, but I do think that Devers has every right to be hurt by it.

I have my own opinion about how the Red Sox should handle the situation and what the best infield configuration would look like. I’m sure you have yours too. We’re also working with incomplete information, because the injury component – when the shoulders of both Devers and Yoshida will be healthy enough for them to play at 100% – no doubt affects the team’s calculus, and that’s not public knowledge. However, Cora has now made it very clear that the team wants Bregman at third and Devers at DH. That means a couple things. It means Yoshida will either be playing in the outfield or not at all. It means that the team expects either Vaughn Grissom or Kristian Campbell to play second base and play it well. It means the team expects Trevor Story to stay healthy and perform at shortstop, which at this point would be a major surprise. This is purely speculation, but I think we have to at least entertain the possibility that the Red Sox never really considered playing Bregman at second base; that they always figured they’d find a way to move Devers off third.

So that’s where things stand as of Wednesday morning, but there’s also one more puzzle piece. So far, the collection of quotes I’ve shown you has been messy, but as is his wont, Triston Casas jumped into the fray and took the whole situation from drama to locker room farce. Visibly smirking, Casas told reporters: ““I think it’s Raffy Devers’s position. I think he’s the third baseman and at that point that’s where it stands. He’s done it for a really long time now and I think he’s only getting better at that position. I think his defense is getting better every single year.”

Casas continued, calling Devers, “the best third baseman in the league,” and saying that Bregman should play second base. “I think he’s going to make the transition well. I think he’s athletic enough to.”

This is very tricky situation. The Red Sox are bound to Devers for a very long time. Despite his glove, he’s still the best player on the team, and they have not yet figured out how to handle the situation without hurting him. Still, it's hard to imagine Devers staying at third base if Brelsow and Cora want him elsewhere. The situation might stay messy for a while. It will certainly be resolved one way or another by Opening Day. In the meantime, at least we get to enjoy Triston Casas.  

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[Brock Beauchamp]

In a shocking turn of events literally no one saw coming, your Opening Day third baseman is

[notin]

No mess.  Devers in April.

Did anyone not expect this to blow up disproportionately in the media? This is from the same folks who once screamed “OMG!! The pitchers who aren’t pitching are EATING CHICKEN!!”

Of course Devers’ initial reaction isnt going to be favorable.  The Sox signed another 3b who has been openly stating all along that HE will change positions, and the first thing he hears upon the signing is “how do you feel about 1b?” Especially since his own manager initially backed up moving Bregman.  But now that it’s reality, it’s all on Raffy to make the sacrifice and fix the infield.
 

The subject has been broached before, when Devers’ initial contract extension paralleled Matt Olson’s.  It’s not something that’s never been discussed and Devers is aware.  But until players suit up and bats start striking balls, there isn’t much else for the media to talk about.

Come late March, Devers will open the season at 3b, Bregman (who gets the advantage of relative sainthood in this) will be at 2b.  Whether it’s injuries or Campbell forcing his way to Boston, Bregman will find his way over to 3b.  And Devers will do what Cora tells him.  Let the initial shock wear off.  This new alignment was always possible - did anyone think Arenado was going to walk quietly across the diamond to 1b with an open mind?  The man’s track to Cooperstown is carried by his glove.

Devers might play a kid’s game, but he is no kid.  If he doesn’t come around sooner, things will work out later.  
 

But I’m the meantime, there’s the same level of confusion (aka “controversy”) in the outfield that could be further complicated by Roman Anthony, and no one is giving it the same level of attention.

 

The Sox are in a position where they have too many good players for a lineup.  This is not a bad thing, and a much better one than the opposite scenario…

[DaveDee]

I agree that this is all just spring training drama for the writers to fill space with. We have a bunch of good players in the infield and things change, injuries happen (mostly to Trevor Story) and there will be room for everyone. Bregman is a better defensive 3B but it's not like Devers is a butcher over there (even though he has lead the league in errors for the past three years, d'oh)...

[sk7326]

Ultimately this is a good problem.  I kind of expect Devers to get a lot of starts at DH ultimately.  But Campbell's progress, Cora's communication ability and Bregman's bat will sort this all out.  

[Hugh2]

There's nothing the Boston sports media would love more than some drama.  Their #1 goal is sales not the Red Sox winning games.  And Drama sells. 

There's nothing they'd love more than the issue to blow up so bad Devers started demanding a trade if they won't keep him at 3rd.  That's not happening. 

Hopefully they get off to a quick start and this is all forgotten, but we know that won't always be the case.  The first time Devers gets hurt or goes through a slump this will be brought back up.  It's just human nature. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Talking heads on Boston sports channel still ragging on Casas today.

The same expert who basically decreed that Casas had no right to give his opinion yesterday returned to the polluted airwaves today: "Why couldn't he have just said what everyone is supposed to say in that situation?"

Next time, Beetle, pass out some AI print-outs so all players will know which cliches to use.

But then you'd have to make up something else controversial to complain about...

[Brock Beauchamp]

The infield situation is only messy until Trevor Story loses a leg in a freak golf cart accident some time in mid-March.

[Duran Is The Man]

1 minute ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

The infield situation is only messy until Trevor Story loses a leg in a freak golf cart accident some time in mid-March.

yep....these kind of things always work themselves out. and, frankly, it's nice for a change to see us have more players than positions available rather than the other way around.

[notin]

7 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

The infield situation is only messy until Trevor Story loses a leg in a freak golf cart accident some time in mid-March.

The only reasons former LSU SS Bregman was the Astros third baseman was he came up with a team that had Carlos Correa entrenched at SS and future Hall of Famer Jose Altuve at 2b…

[Brock Beauchamp]

12 minutes ago, notin said:

The only reasons former LSU SS Bregman was the Astros third baseman was he came up with a team that had Carlos Correa entrenched at SS and future Hall of Famer Jose Altuve at 2b…

Oh yeah, I'm of the opinion that the Sox should at least consider playing Bregman at second base. If Raffy wasn't so bad at third, Bregman at second would be an easy decision.

[notin]

1 hour ago, Hugh2 said:

There's nothing the Boston sports media would love more than some drama.  Their #1 goal is sales not the Red Sox winning games.  And Drama sells. 

There's nothing they'd love more than the issue to blow up so bad Devers started demanding a trade if they won't keep him at 3rd.  That's not happening. 

Hopefully they get off to a quick start and this is all forgotten, but we know that won't always be the case.  The first time Devers gets hurt or goes through a slump this will be brought back up.  It's just human nature. 

It’s not even just the Boston sports media.  It’s media in general.  But ant sports media finds creating these situations to be easy and low risk.  
 

If the Patriots draft a QB in the first few rounds and he’s pretty good, these same media will start taking about a Quarterback CONTROVERSY.  Huh?  By definition a controversy is a “prolonged and heated disagreement.”  How does having two QBs apply?  It’s not a controversy; it’s depth.

But they’ll tell us “the Patriots don’t know who they’re starting quarterback is!!”  They probably do, but at worst they’ve narrowed it down to two candidates; quit pretending there’s a void.

Or my favorite “if you have two quarterbacks, you have none.”  No.  You have two.  One of them will be the backup, but the rest of the team has to get used to playing with him regardless.  Injuries happen.  Depth is good.  Stop trying to incite a panic over it…

[notin]

2 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Oh yeah, I'm of the opinion that the Sox should at least consider playing Bregman at second base. If Raffy wasn't so bad at third, Bregman at second would be an easy decision.

I think they will.  Just because a player wins a Gild Glive at one position didn’t mean they’re incapable of playing elsewhere.

A couple weeks ago, the talk was Devers’ shoulders and Casas’ injury and how any recurrence could derail the season, which struck me as a legitimate concern.  Now the Sox have addressed that issue and the media keeps telling us about all these petty bickerings and how it’s so much worse now.  What’s the over/under date for the Devers and Casas trade demand stories?

[Hugh2]

16 minutes ago, notin said:

It’s not even just the Boston sports media.  It’s media in general.  But ant sports media finds creating these situations to be easy and low risk.  
 

If the Patriots draft a QB in the first few rounds and he’s pretty good, these same media will start taking about a Quarterback CONTROVERSY.  Huh?  By definition a controversy is a “prolonged and heated disagreement.”  How does having two QBs apply?  It’s not a controversy; it’s depth.

But they’ll tell us “the Patriots don’t know who they’re starting quarterback is!!”  They probably do, but at worst they’ve narrowed it down to two candidates; quit pretending there’s a void.

Or my favorite “if you have two quarterbacks, you have none.”  No.  You have two.  One of them will be the backup, but the rest of the team has to get used to playing with him regardless.  Injuries happen.  Depth is good.  Stop trying to incite a panic over it…

One has to wonder how often they actually might cause a locker room controversy vs. these guys read the news and laugh their asses off at them.   Personally I think it would be great if they just decide to f*** with everyone.  Raffy should take third base on opening day and then have Bregman come pull him out. 

I would also be appeased if one of these players just snapped back at the media and put them in their place, but we know that will never happen.  The front office would certainly frown down on that, but I'd think it would be great if someone like Duran got up their and just told them all they're freaking stupid about the whole Devers situation.  

[Old Red]

11 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

One has to wonder how often they actually might cause a locker room controversy vs. these guys read the news and laugh their asses off at them.   Personally I think it would be great if they just decide to f*** with everyone.  Raffy should take third base on opening day and then have Bregman come pull him out. 

I would also be appeased if one of these players just snapped back at the media and put them in their place, but we know that will never happen.  The front office would certainly frown down on that, but I'd think it would be great if someone like Duran got up their and just told them all they're freaking stupid about the whole Devers situation.  

The media is just asking questions. Raffy didn’t have to answer like he did, and Cora didn’t have to answer like he did. If they wanted to air their grievances out to the public then everything is fair game. The fans take the info, and form their opinions, and  run with it in all different directions just like on here. Listening to every word, and how it was said, and trying to decipher the true meaning. I don’t think Raffy would be into any pranks about 3B either.

[moonslav59]

Bregman would likely be a very good 2Bman and decent SS, but we know he is an excellent 3Bman, and we have the worst in MLB, there now.

This is not rocket science.

I feel pretty confident Devers will come around. if not, we'll see what happens.

[mvp 78]

16 minutes ago, Old Red said:

The media is just asking questions. 

Honestly, I couldn't care less about beat writers going forward and them trying to gin up stories. Hounding baseball players isn't journalism. It's just TMZ/National Enquirer muckraking. Could probably get a better quote from Bat Boy and the Weekly World News than reading anything Cotillo has done in his whole career. 

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

2 hours ago, Hugh2 said:

There's nothing the Boston sports media would love more than some drama.  Their #1 goal is sales not the Red Sox winning games.  And Drama sells. 

There's nothing they'd love more than the issue to blow up so bad Devers started demanding a trade if they won't keep him at 3rd.  That's not happening. 

Hopefully they get off to a quick start and this is all forgotten, but we know that won't always be the case.  The first time Devers gets hurt or goes through a slump this will be brought back up.  It's just human nature. 

Actually, it could be argued that not moving devers shows the #1 priority is not winning games either.

Astros and Red Sox’s Polar Opposite Cultures Compared After Alex Bregman’s Controversial Boston Entry - EssentiallySports

[Old Red]

7 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Honestly, I couldn't care less about beat writers going forward and them trying to gin up stories. Hounding baseball players isn't journalism. It's just TMZ/National Enquirer muckraking. Could probably get a better quote from Bat Boy and the Weekly World News than reading anything Cotillo has done in his whole career. 

Hounding? Did the media force Raffy, and Cora to say what they did. Usually Cora doesn’t discuss with the media what he talks to the players about in private. This time he did. 

[Bellhorn04]

39 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Actually, it could be argued that not moving devers shows the #1 priority is not winning games either.

Astros and Red Sox’s Polar Opposite Cultures Compared After Alex Bregman’s Controversial Boston Entry - EssentiallySports

This piece is pure garbage.

When Jeter stayed at short, did that demonstrate the Yanks didn't care about winning? 

[mvp 78]

11 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

This piece is pure garbage.

When Jeter stayed at short, did that demonstrate the Yanks didn't care about winning? 

Yes.

[mvp 78]

39 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Hounding? Did the media force Raffy, and Cora to say what they did. Usually Cora doesn’t discuss with the media what he talks to the players about in private. This time he did. 

Yes.

[notin]

1 hour ago, Hugh2 said:

One has to wonder how often they actually might cause a locker room controversy vs. these guys read the news and laugh their asses off at them.   Personally I think it would be great if they just decide to f*** with everyone.  Raffy should take third base on opening day and then have Bregman come pull him out. 

I would also be appeased if one of these players just snapped back at the media and put them in their place, but we know that will never happen.  The front office would certainly frown down on that, but I'd think it would be great if someone like Duran got up their and just told them all they're freaking stupid about the whole Devers situation.  

It just makes me think of that scene from “61*” with Mickey Mantle (played by Thomas Jayne) and Roger Maris (played by Barry Pepper) sitting on the couch together watching a news story about some rift the two were having, and Mantle turns to Maris and asks “are we fighting?”  Maris just replies “we must be. Says so on the news.”

[notin]

56 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Honestly, I couldn't care less about beat writers going forward and them trying to gin up stories. Hounding baseball players isn't journalism. It's just TMZ/National Enquirer muckraking. Could probably get a better quote from Bat Boy and the Weekly World News than reading anything Cotillo has done in his whole career. 

Weak criticism.  You’re always better off reading the highly imaginative Weekly World News, especially back in the old Dick Donovan days…

[Old Red]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Yes.

Doing your Raffy impression? Yes?.

[notin]

1 hour ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Actually, it could be argued that not moving devers shows the #1 priority is not winning games either.

Astros and Red Sox’s Polar Opposite Cultures Compared After Alex Bregman’s Controversial Boston Entry - EssentiallySports

That article is horrible.  It’s not even factually accurate.  “Jose Altuve changed positions.”  Past tense?  Are they referring to his two career games at SS?

And Alvarez switching to DH?  So selfless, the way he handled it when they asked “do you want to DH in Houston or play outfield in AAA?”

Even if they’re referring to Altuve potentially going to LF, it hasn’t exactly happened yet, and probably won’t since that move was proposed to accommodate Bregman.  Roster Resource (granted, unofficial) still lists him as their starting 2b, probably because their only INF on the bench is Mauricio Dubón.  Doubtful the Astros move Altuve to LF to accommodate Dubon…

[mvp 78]

13 minutes ago, notin said:

Weak criticism.  You’re always better off reading the highly imaginative Weekly World News, especially back in the old Dick Donovan days…

The baseball pitcher? 

[mvp 78]

12 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Doing your Raffy impression? Yes?.

ME THINK, WHY WASTE TIME SAY LOT WORD, WHEN FEW WORD DO TRICK. 🧐

[moonslav59]

31 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Yes.

Agreed. They cared more about keeping their primadonna stars happy.

The Yanks won quite a bit with Jeter at 3B, after ARod joined the team, but it was just one ring in 11 seasons with ARod and Jeter on the same team (2004-2014.)

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Since there's nothing else to watch on TV right now, these are all just more Search For Bigfoot! shows. 

The media are the investigators with all the latest high end tech. They always go where someone thought they saw something... and when they get there, someone thinks they heard something. BUT THERE IS NEVER ANY EVIDENCE.

We viewers with remotes never watch entire episodes anyway.

The players are one big family of Sasquatch, sharing a few good laughs while hiding out in the Yeti Bar in Leysin, Switzerland.