The Red Sox Are Pursuing Shortstop Willy Adames, Will Rafael Devers Move To First Base?

Last week, Davy Andrews wrote an excellent piece detailing the pros and cons of the Red Sox signing Willy Adames. Some incredibly valid points were raised on both sides of the argument, and Davy seemed to be a bit ahead of the game regarding the link between Boston and Adames. Tyler Milliken posted on X this morning:

Woah. That’s huge news, but it begs the question: Where will Adames play if he comes to Boston? There are two answers, both with varying degrees of explanation. Let’s start with the most realistic.

Red Sox Sign Willy Adames To Play Third Base
This makes the most sense, especially with the rumors that the Red Sox have held internal discussions on moving Rafael Devers from third to first. Adames has said he’s open to moving to second or third, depending on what his new team asks of him. In Boston, second base seems to be Kristian Campbell’s for the taking at some point during the 2025 season, so the shift in position shouldn’t be there. Adames moving to third allows Trevor Story to continue to play his natural position at shortstop and shifts Devers into either the role of full-time designated hitter or into a brand new position at first base. Devers to first may not be the most ideal option to some, but the reasoning behind it makes sense. It’s no secret that Devers isn’t the strongest defensive third baseman. He often makes insanely difficult plays but struggles with the routine ones. At first, he has to learn to pick the ball and accept throws from anywhere on the diamond, but for a natural athlete like Devers and a mostly full offseason to work on it, that shouldn’t be too much of a problem. 

This also opens up the Red Sox to be incredibly strong on the trade market as a position shift for Devers will all but guarantee that Triston Casas is traded. Some people argue that trading Casas, who has the potential to be a 40-home-run hitter at first, is insane if you’re just replacing him with someone who has never played the position before, and in a vacuum, that makes sense. However, Admes has pop and should hit at least 20 home runs as a member of the Boston Red Sox. If we overlay his spray chart on top of Fenway Park, we see far more balls hit over the Green Monster. This spray chart should help settle the worry about the potential production loss from Triston Casas if he departs in a trade. 

The second option is a bit convoluted, but bear with me. 

Red Sox Sign Willy Adames To Play Shortstop, Trevor Story Moves To Second, Rafael Devers Moves To DH, Red Sox Either Sign Alex Bregman Or Trade For Nolan Arenado
As Milliken said in his tweet, the Red Sox are interested in either signing Alex Bregman or trading with the St. Louis Cardinals for Nolan Arenado. Still, either option would require them also to trade Masataka Yoshida, and his market is incredibly limited. There may be something to making a deal with the Cardinals as old friend Chaim Bloom is preparing to take over the reins there after the 2025 season. However, it was reported that Bloom struggled with the Yoshida contract after it was signed, so seeing him bring Masa back into the fold seems unlikely unless the Red Sox agree to pay a large portion of his contract. Masa also recovered from a right shoulder labral repair in early October, thus limiting his value even more. He’s expected to be ready to go by the end of spring training, but taking on a contract for an injured player who hasn’t lived up to the hype isn’t a deal most teams are looking to make. Even bringing in Bregman requires a Yoshida trade, which seems unlikely at this stage.

Moving Story back to second has legs, though. He played well there in the 2022 season, and playing second may slightly lessen the injury chance moving forward. Without making a secondary deal, signing Adames to play short and shifting Story to second would allow Devers to continue to play third base, which his agent claims is the position he wants to play. 

If the Red Sox are serious about bringing in Willy Adames, there are multiple ways to insert him into the infield and improve nearly every aspect of the game. He’s a trusted defender, hits for power, and even has started swiping bags. Adames makes a lot of sense for the Red Sox if they are willing to shift positions for other core team members.