Question of the week: Should Raffy agree to play first?

[Brock Beauchamp]

This is something I hope to do every week or two. Looking at this from Rafael Devers' position, should he agree to play first base in 2025, factoring in everything that happened over the past couple of years to get here?

I'm not interested in this being a Devers bashing exercise. If you have an opinion, voice it reasonably.

[vjcsmoke]

Naah, this ship has sailed. Devers is not going to play first. The manager won't pressure him to play first. He's hitting very well now and there's no need to mess with his mojo. 1st base is probably the least valuable defensive position on the field. We will be able to find a league average player to stick there sooner or later. Maybe near the trade deadline.

[illinoisredsox]

What difference would it make; this club is going nowhere.

[Duran Is The Man]

he's the ultimate selfish POS for not even agreeing to give it a try. 

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

Not happening.

You have a very selfish player and a manager with no balls.

[Duran Is The Man]

1 minute ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Not happening.

You have a very selfish player and a manager with no balls.

that's it.

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

Yankees 3B Rips Into Red Sox Front Office for Making False Promises to Rafael Devers Amid Excruciating Downfall

[urban cowboy]

I wouldn't have signed him to that huge contract and then brought in bregman. I'd live with his fielding inconsistency and keep him happy there. Since that ship has sailed, it really is on him to do what's asked. Maybe he can pull off just being a DH like big papi did, but my guess is he's going to get sick of it and ask to be traded at some point. he seems like a guy that wants to be active and playing in the field. 

[notin]

9 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Yankees 3B Rips Into Red Sox Front Office for Making False Promises to Rafael Devers Amid Excruciating Downfall

And Jaz Chisholm conveniently forgets that Devers did have the position for two full seasons and didn’t play it well.

The Sox held up their end of the deal.  How does Devers justify his?

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

Just now, notin said:

And Jaz Chisholm conveniently forgets that Devers did have the position for two full seasons and didn’t play it well…

The sox obviously didn't care about his poor fielding since they gave him that contract to play 3rd.

[notin]

Just now, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

The sox obviously didn't care about his poor fielding since they gave him that contract to play 3rd.

And that’s where you’re wrong.  

Their original offer to him was closer Matt Olson’s deal, at which point Devers was told his future was likely at 1b at some point (and they were not planning this move because Devers played third too well).  That discussed move to first was why Devers insisted on getting a promise of playing third.  He got said promise, but he then went on to play himself off of third.  And that’s why Bregman was brought in…

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

8 minutes ago, notin said:

And that’s where you’re wrong.  

Their original offer to him was closer Matt Olson’s deal, at which point Devers was told his future was likely at 1b at some point (and they were not planning this move because Devers played third too well).  That discussed move to first was why Devers insisted on getting a promise of playing third.  He got said promise, but he then went on to play himself off of third.  And that’s why Bregman was brought in…

Not wrong at all. They gave him that contract to play 3rd.

Smh......

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

Red Sox’s Rafael Devers ‘Sin’ to Blame for Roman Anthony Snub, Claims MLB Insider

[Randy Red Sox]

15 hours ago, vjcsmoke said:

Naah, this ship has sailed. Devers is not going to play first. The manager won't pressure him to play first. He's hitting very well now and there's no need to mess with his mojo. 1st base is probably the least valuable defensive position on the field. We will be able to find a league average player to stick there sooner or later. Maybe near the trade deadline.

more likely we will be shipping players out not adding.

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

Just now, Randy Red Sox said:

more likely we will be shipping players out not adding.

If they are smart they will be.

bloom was terrible at the deadline with his both buy and sell strategy.

[jdc69]

How a promise got made and actually believed during a contract signing makes no sense. If it was a true promise, why not put it in the contract? The whole thing is a messy mess.

[Old Red]

32 minutes ago, jdc69 said:

How a promise got made and actually believed during a contract signing makes no sense. If it was a true promise, why not put it in the contract? The whole thing is a messy mess.

It’s not just that, but McAdams reported that Raffy asked management about the rumors of Bregman, or Arenado coming to Boston, and he was told it was just media speculation.

[cp176]

16 hours ago, vjcsmoke said:

Naah, this ship has sailed. Devers is not going to play first. The manager won't pressure him to play first. He's hitting very well now and there's no need to mess with his mojo. 1st base is probably the least valuable defensive position on the field. We will be able to find a league average player to stick there sooner or later. Maybe near the trade deadline.

There is as much chance for Cora to get Devers to do anything other than what he is currently doing as there is for him to get Duran to take a day off.  

[notin]

1 hour ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Not wrong at all. They gave him that contract to play 3rd.

Smh......

And he played third for two full seasons and in the process, lost the job.  This isn’t rocket surgery…

[notin]

1 hour ago, jdc69 said:

How a promise got made and actually believed during a contract signing makes no sense. If it was a true promise, why not put it in the contract? The whole thing is a messy mess.

Gee, putting a promise in an agreed-upon document full of promises.  What a novel idea…

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

5 minutes ago, notin said:

And he played third for two full seasons and in the process, lost the job.  This isn’t rocket surgery…

That's great, but it doesn't change the fact that they signed him to that contract to play 3rd base.

This isn't that difficult to understand.

[notin]

21 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

That's great, but it doesn't change the fact that they signed him to that contract to play 3rd base.

This isn't that difficult to understand.

No, they signed him to play baseball.  And they agreed to give him a chance to play third base for two years.  I can promise nowhere did that contract mention he would be playing third base,  and even Devers knew he could lose it if he wasn’t good enough…

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

2 minutes ago, notin said:

No, they signed him to hit.  And they agreed to give him a chance to play third base for two years.  I can promise nowhere did that contract mention he would be playing third base,  and even Devers knew he could lose it if he wasn’t good enough…

Again, they promised him he would play third when he signed that contract. That's well known, I don't know why you continue to try and deny it. Weird.

[Bellhorn04]

2 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Again, they promised him he would play third when he signed that contract. That's well known, I don't know why you continue to try and deny it. Weird.

Well, it is a bit questionable how Chaim Bloom could promise Devers he'd still be playing third 11 years in the future.  The promise may have been made, but it didn't necessarily make any sense.  Especially when Bloom got the axe not much later.

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

3 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Well, it is a bit questionable how Chaim Bloom could promise Devers he'd still be playing third 11 years in the future.  The promise may have been made, but it didn't necessarily make any sense.  Especially when Bloom got the axe not much later.

I never said it made sense, I only stated that it was made.

Plenty of what bloom did didn't make sense, especially his ineptitude at the trade deadline.

[Old Red]

10 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Well, it is a bit questionable how Chaim Bloom could promise Devers he'd still be playing third 11 years in the future.  The promise may have been made, but it didn't necessarily make any sense.  Especially when Bloom got the axe not much later.

I know Vlad Jr just signed a massive contract, but when Raffy signed his $300M+ contract 1B, and certainly not a DH we’re getting that kind of contracts. To me Raffy was signed as a 3B.

[notin]

7 minutes ago, Old Red said:

I know Vlad Jr just signed a massive contract, but when Raffy signed his $300M+ contract 1B, and certainly not a DH we’re getting that kind of contracts. To me Raffy was signed as a 3B.

They definitely paid Devers like an All Star 3b, but that doesn’t guarantee he gets to play there forever.  At one point, Pablo Sandoval was paid like an All Star 3b, and it didn’t even guarantee him a roster spot…

[Old Red]

Just now, notin said:

They definitely paid Devers like an All Star 3b, but that doesn’t guarantee he gets to play there forever.  At one point, Pablo Sandoval was paid like an All Star 3b, and it didn’t even guarantee him a roster spot…

I was never against the Red Sox taking Raffy off 3B, but I just didn’t think they would do it this soon. I also didn’t think Raffy would want to do it. Right on 1 thing, and wrong on the other.

[Bellhorn04]

25 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

I never said it made sense, I only stated that it was made.

Plenty of what bloom did didn't make sense, especially his ineptitude at the trade deadline.

It made no sense, it was useless, and Devers should have realized that.

It's basically a non-issue, or should be.

[Bellhorn04]

20 minutes ago, Old Red said:

I know Vlad Jr just signed a massive contract, but when Raffy signed his $300M+ contract 1B, and certainly not a DH we’re getting that kind of contracts. To me Raffy was signed as a 3B.

He may have been a 3B at the time, but he was also an obvious candidate to be moved to 1B or DH at some point.

It was a massive overpay.  All part of the fallout from JH's catastrophic decision-making starting in 2019.