Jump to content
Talk Sox
  • Create Account
  • Red Sox News & Analysis

    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.

    Image courtesy of © Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

    Red Sox Video

    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.  

    Follow Talk Sox For Boston Red Sox News & Analysis

    Recent Red Sox Articles

    Recent Red Sox Videos


    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments



    Featured Comments

    13 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

    Woah there.

    You know I've always been on their side, because of the hypocrisy of the MLB rules vs. the very concept of the sport.

    It's just like when museums tell art thieves, "You're allowed to steal, but you can't use night-vision goggles to detect lasers that can set off alarms."

    16 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

    I see what you did there lol however I have heard that there are people who see LF in Campbells future. 

    Is he doing any OF work this Spring? I've only heard about IF so far. He has a much longer history in the IF, so it may be a better fit as he's adjusting to MLB. 

    1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

    The problem was that people were saying "well I don't think it will be an issue" and some posters were all over them saying "where are your sources on that?" or whatever. We all have our own opinions on this stuff. None of us know for sure. Even relying on sports radio guys for the "inside baseball" stuff will lead you astray most of the time. Until Devers actually flipped out more than just saying "I want to play 3b," there was little reason to turn the molehill into a mountain and rundown other posters for not being concerned about it. 

    It's ok to have differing opinions. I think we all just need to remember to not be jagoffs about it towards each other. 

    Well, I do agree to a certain point. He didn't simply say "I want to play 3B". He stated "I am the 3B". That's why people presumed it may be a problem. But I do agree that nobody truly knows yet and it is all our own opinions.

    I certainly did not try to be a jagoff to anyone. Sorry if it was interpreted that way.

    24 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

    Well, I do agree to a certain point. He didn't simply say "I want to play 3B". He stated "I am the 3B". That's why people presumed it may be a problem. But I do agree that nobody truly knows yet and it is all our own opinions.

    I certainly did not try to be a jagoff to anyone. Sorry if it was interpreted that way.

    There is also a possibility of translation issues and expressions used in other languages that are not easily translated -sometimes giving off an unintended vibe.

    If you look at his first statements, he did say enar the end a conciliatory statement, 'I’m open to listening. I’m not close to those conversations.

    25 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

    Well, I do agree to a certain point. He didn't simply say "I want to play 3B". He stated "I am the 3B". That's why people presumed it may be a problem. But I do agree that nobody truly knows yet and it is all our own opinions.

    I certainly did not try to be a jagoff to anyone. Sorry if it was interpreted that way.

    That came out of his mouth? or the translators mouth? you know translations aren't always perfect, and tone among other things get lost in translation as well.  

    He might of been referring to me as being a Jagoffasaurus, 

    But back to your point where "he" stated "I am the 3B' I go back to my point.  If no one has told him he's not the 3B anymore then he is the 3B.  He's truthfully answering the question in his head. 

    11 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

    That came out of his mouth? or the translators mouth? you know translations aren't always perfect, and tone among other things get lost in translation as well.  

    He might of been referring to me as being a Jagoffasaurus, 

    But back to your point where "he" stated "I am the 3B' I go back to my point.  If no one has told him he's not the 3B anymore then he is the 3B.  He's truthfully answering the question in his head. 

    Whatever, dude, it's what he said. You can claim the translator doesn't know Spanish all you want if it makes you feel better.

    11 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

     

    The full tweet was interesting to read last week. Devers relies on a translator in formal interview settings to help him, but I think it just made it more confusing this time. His English is supposed to be pretty good and I think that if he was going one on one with someone, they would have figured out the conversation a little better. However, I don't think baseball writers have any other agenda but find something exciting to write about and there isn't much to write about right now. It was an easy story for them to glom onto and then some of them pooh pooh the next day. 

    1 hour ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

    ... or shortstop. No one should be surprised if he plays at least a few innings there, as well.

    Cora trusts him complicitly.

    I could see him there temporarily.  From what I understand, he plays the position passably.  But he might not be the best option if the need is long term…

    7 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

    Whatever, dude, it's what he said. You can claim the translator doesn't know Spanish all you want if it makes you feel better.

    Oh second point to playing telephone.  You just said "You can claim the translator doesn't know spanish all you want"

    But you see, that's not what I said.  I didn't say he didn't know spanish but that's how you took it.   Now think about that and add in the layer of going from one language to the next.  That's what happens when you speak through an interpreter and then someone writes a story about it. 

    But again, all he said was "I play 3B" which is true, up until now he has played 3B for more than 1/2 a decade.  Until the team explicitly tells him otherwise why should answer that question any differently? 

    6 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

    Oh second point to playing telephone.  You just said "You can claim the translator doesn't know spanish all you want"

    But you see, that's not what I said.  I didn't say he didn't know spanish but that's how you took it.   Now think about that and add in the layer of going from one language to the next.  That's what happens when you speak through an interpreter and then someone writes a story about it. 

    But again, all he said was "I play 3B" which is true, up until now he has played 3B for more than 1/2 a decade.  Until the team explicitly tells him otherwise why should answer that question any differently? 

    There's other Spanish speaking players on the team, literally hundreds throughout baseball and millions of people in this country that speak Spanish, yet the only one claiming that he didn't say what he said is you. Surely one of those Spanish speaking people would have spoken up at this point.

    39 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

    There's other Spanish speaking players on the team, literally hundreds throughout baseball and millions of people in this country that speak Spanish, yet the only one claiming that he didn't say what he said is you. Surely one of those Spanish speaking people would have spoken up at this point.

    LMFAO I honestly can't tell if you're just not getting this or if you're messing with me.  Not only did I not say that he didn't say that, I explicitly came back and said that I didn't say that.  Kind of ironic for you to say that and take this position. 

    What I said was "things get lost in transition."  If you can't understand the difference I can't help you. 

    9 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

    LMFAO I honestly can't tell if you're just not getting this or if you're messing with me.  Not only did I not say that he didn't say that, I explicitly came back and said that I didn't say that.  Kind of ironic for you to say that and take this position. 

    What I said was "things get lost in transition."  If you can't understand the difference I can't help you. 

    I'm not sure you get it.

    If he said what he said then it was not lost in translation.

    Smh........

    57 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

    There's other Spanish speaking players on the team, literally hundreds throughout baseball and millions of people in this country that speak Spanish, yet the only one claiming that he didn't say what he said is you. Surely one of those Spanish speaking people would have spoken up at this point.

    I speak Spanish, and I heard what he said. Words can be translated within the context they are said, differently, and some expressions are hard to translate, and even harder, if the translator is not from the same area as the player.

    For example, Devers said "The conversation not close." That's how it was translated in print. IMO, he meant, the conversation is not closed, as in I'm open to talking about it. 

    8 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

    I speak Spanish, and I heard what he said. Words can be translated within the context they are said, differently, and some expressions are hard to translate, and even harder, if the translator is not from the same area as the player.

    For example, Devers said "The conversation not close." That's how it was translated in print. IMO, he meant, the conversation is not closed, as in I'm open to talking about it. 

    Again, why are none of his Spanish speaking teammates refuting what was printed?

    2 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

    Again, why are none of his Spanish speaking teammates refuting what was printed?

    Why should they? They might not even understand the written article in English or notice the nuance.

    You are missing the point. Take the last statement I quoted., "The conversation not close." It does not even make sense as written.  There is no verb. I know what he said. I listened again, today. He was clearly saying the talks are not done. Not that the conversation is not close to him geographically.

    Come on, dude!

    I talk to my ex-wife everyday.  We are really good friends still.  Our kids are multi-lingual and each speak two languages (although my daughter is on her third).  Their mother speaks 7 different languages, she worked in the courts as an interpreter. 

    I was literally married to an interpreter.  I would like to think I at least kind of know what the ffff I'm talking about here. Saying that things don't get lost in translation is just absurdly Ludacris to me but more importantly it's not about what we heard It's about what HE heard, and I don' think many people are considering that at all.  

    What position are you going to play, can turn into what position do you like playing very quickly.  "he said what he said" carries a completely different context when you can understand things get lost in transition sometimes.  I think Raffy is just going to tell us he's playing 3B until the team tells him otherwise and that's fine I honestly can't believe people give a s***.

    No one is talking about this down at the Fort because literally no one else cares except us fans.  His teammates are talking about it because they don't care. 

    No one cares because it's a NOTHING BURGER!!!!

    This is how I see it:  Devers has been the Sox third baseman for over seven years, including on a world championship team. He is generally considered their best player at this time. Now, he hears talk that he is not good enough defensively and has to change positions to make room for the new guy. Devers is human. He has his pride and his feelings. So, he reacts by saying something like " I am the third baseman, I don't want to play another position or DH". The more diplomatic response would have been,  " I prefer playing third, but I will do whatever the manager wants to help the team".  But Devers' response was totally understandable. I don't blame the translator or the reporter. If anything, I blame Sox management for being indecisive. They should have made it clear to Devers, Bregman and Casas exactly what their plans were and what was expected from each of them. 

    3 minutes ago, dgalehouse said:

    This is how I see it:  Devers has been the Sox third baseman for over seven years, including on a world championship team. He is generally considered their best player at this time. Now, he hears talk that he is not good enough defensively and has to change positions to make room for the new guy. Devers is human. He has his pride and his feelings. So, he reacts by saying something like " I am the third baseman, I don't want to play another position or DH". The more diplomatic response would have been,  " I prefer playing third, but I will do whatever the manager wants to help the team".  But Devers' response was totally understandable. I don't blame the translator or the reporter. If anything, I blame Sox management for being indecisive. They should have made it clear to Devers, Bregman and Casas exactly what their plans were and what was expected from each of them. 

    I agree Devers was just being human.  But ultimately, plan shared or not, the job of each ideal to do what the manager says.  And I think they will when Cora actually tells them.  Of course at this point, this is just media frenzy.  Devers, Casas and Bregman better not be caught sharing a bucket of chicken over a few cold ones.  Hell will definitely break loose if that happens…

    1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

    Because it's not a big deal in house and the team moved on by the end of the day while they were hanging out at Cora's house. 

    ding ding ding we have a winner!!!! It's a nothing burger. 

    The reason why this grinds my gears, is there's going to come a time.  Maybe this time is in the summer, maybe its next.  But there will be a time when Devers hits a slump, and people are going to come back to this time and use this "nothing burger" against him.  And that's just bananas. 

    37 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

    I talk to my ex-wife everyday.  We are really good friends still.  Our kids are multi-lingual and each speak two languages (although my daughter is on her third).  Their mother speaks 7 different languages, she worked in the courts as an interpreter. 

    I was literally married to an interpreter.  I would like to think I at least kind of know what the ffff I'm talking about here. Saying that things don't get lost in translation is just absurdly Ludacris to me but more importantly it's not about what we heard It's about what HE heard, and I don' think many people are considering that at all.  

    What position are you going to play, can turn into what position do you like playing very quickly.  "he said what he said" carries a completely different context when you can understand things get lost in transition sometimes.  I think Raffy is just going to tell us he's playing 3B until the team tells him otherwise and that's fine I honestly can't believe people give a s***.

    No one is talking about this down at the Fort because literally no one else cares except us fans.  His teammates are talking about it because they don't care. 

    No one cares because it's a NOTHING BURGER!!!!

    That's great, you can "think" all you like, that doesn't make it true.

    51 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

    I talk to my ex-wife everyday.  We are really good friends still.  Our kids are multi-lingual and each speak two languages (although my daughter is on her third).  Their mother speaks 7 different languages, she worked in the courts as an interpreter. 

    I was literally married to an interpreter.  I would like to think I at least kind of know what the ffff I'm talking about here. Saying that things don't get lost in translation is just absurdly Ludacris to me but more importantly it's not about what we heard It's about what HE heard, and I don' think many people are considering that at all.  

    What position are you going to play, can turn into what position do you like playing very quickly.  "he said what he said" carries a completely different context when you can understand things get lost in transition sometimes.  I think Raffy is just going to tell us he's playing 3B until the team tells him otherwise and that's fine I honestly can't believe people give a s***.

    No one is talking about this down at the Fort because literally no one else cares except us fans.  His teammates are talking about it because they don't care. 

    No one cares because it's a NOTHING BURGER!!!!

    I could not agree more. Very well said.




    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...