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I’ll add the obvious comment. The Sox don’t need any outfielders. Unless there is a subsequent trade…

And defensive limitations are not just about errors. Balls Devers cannot get to that maybe someone else can count as hits. They don’t effect fielding percentage or error counts, but they can lead to runs…

Fangraphs does break down errors. For his career, Devers has 75 fielding errors and 66 throwing errors. My thoughts are not moving him to 1b because I think he will win a Gold Glove.. I would move him there because he fields third base like he’s wearing a Gold Glove. The chances thing isn’t really representative. The overwhelming bulk of Devers’ (or any 3b’s) chances are on balls batted to him. The bulk of plays any 1b makes are on balls thrown to him. By people who want him to catch it. This isn’t about whether or not 1b is easy. It is easier than 3b. My sources on this include Fangraphs (whose position adjustment for first is the lowest) and The Fielding Bible.. Look around MLB and you will see a lot of first basemen did start out at 3b and were moved to 1b because they couldn’t field 3b very well. Not just Vlad. A bunch of others converted in the minors. Some adjusted well (Michael Busch). Others not so much (Bobby Dalbec.) But all of them stepped aside so better fielders could play 3b..

No one here expects our thoughts to translate to anything the Sox do. We make our suggestions and predictions, etc. because we enjoy them and the ensuing discussions. This forum is for our entertainment, not as a conduit to the FO. Not sure why that bothers you. Frankly it would bother me more if the FO came here looking at my ideas as possible solutions…

Matt Duffy? That man can sprain his wrist signing a contract! Just try Romy or Vaughn Grissom at 3b first. If Grissom works out, it opens up 2b for Campbell. (Atlanta actually did try Grissom at 3b in hopes of making him a super utility player. But he was never meant to be a full time solution there because Austin Riley exists.)

Ok. And then where does Duran go? CF with Rafaela to 3b? (I shouldn’t need to point out but I will that this is obviously not a serious suggestion.)

They should probably keep playing the pitching hand they dealt themselves, too…

It might be progress. As long as his 26th percentile sprint speed isn’t an obstacle…

Common consensus never said 1b was easy. Just that it’s the easiest position to play. You don’t discredit that by telling me what first baseman do; you discredit it by telling me what position is easier. Preferably with some logic. And the point isn’t to just upgrade 1b. Devers is the worst defensive 3b in MLB using the metrics. The idea isn’t to use him to upgrade Casas (who is one of the worst defensive 1b in MLB); the point of moving Devers would be to upgrade 3b defense. Why do you suppose the Jays play Vlad at 1b? Most likely because he was worse at 3b. And when they did move Vlad, they replaced him with one of the best defensive third basemen in MLB, and improved their infield defense.

And as bad as Devers is at 3b, Casas is only marginally better at 1b. Under the same parameters Casas ranks 50th in DRS and 49th in OAA out of 57 qualified first basemen. Devers might be worse, but there are only so many steps down he can go…

I don’t think anyone thinks Yoshida is in demand. Most (all?) of the deals being thrown around include other players, money, or both. That’s not exactly a sign of selling high. And even then most acknowledge they’re still questionable…

Not to mention, you keep focusing on the wrong side of this move. The issue isn’t whether or not Devers can play 1b; the issue is he cannot play 3b. With a minimum 700 innings since 2022, Devers ranks 54th out of 56 third baseman in OAA. And 55th in DRS. To paraphrase Dean Wormer, he is not AT the bottom of the barrel; he IS the bottom of the barrel. This is where the improvements can happen. If Devers sucks at 1b, then it’s status quo at 1b and an upgrade at 3b. That’s a good thing. Yes? No?

Agree and disagree. The lackluster Sox cannot try to maintain the status quo, but this Duran hubbub started when I called it a small market move. What will those ticket-buying fans think if the Sox unload another young star? It’s been 6 years since Mookie was dealt, and while the situations are really not the same, to many fans they might be. No one cried when the Sox dealt Moncada or Hanley or Pavano or even Curt Schilling. But when it’s a good player they actually paid to see, that’s different…

Agreed. Just means he had the best season…

True. But no move carries any guarantee, except signing a free agent carries a guaranteed cost. If the Sox were to move Devers to 1b and Casas to DH, and it does not work, as long as they have both players, they have the option of undoing it. Want a guarantee? I guarantee if the Sox go with the status quo at the corner infield positions, they will continue to be weak there defensively…

“Impact” doesn’t mean “sole reason”…

More likely a really good pitching prospect. Teams acquiring Duran are probably trying to win. Teams trying to win rarely trade their better starting pitchers. Now you could deal Duran for a collection of good prospects you could then flip for a really good pitcher on a bad/cost-cutting team…

It didn’t? The Sox won a World Series in his last season, then he left and the Sox finished last the next two seasons…

But posting it won’t make the Sox FO sit up and take notice!!!!

Was that said when Sale kept getting hurt? Might be a bad omen…

Of course they we’re aware.. Everyone was aware. Hell, we all knew about it and none of us work for either team. But you said our posts wouldn’t influence the FO. No s***. We know that. Your posts about Sale didn’t either. And neither will the infinite number of posts concerning the Sox need for pitching. No one on this board (hopefully) thinks anyone in the Sox FO comes to Talksox for ideas and feedback. Heck, I bet none of them have ever even heard of this site among the 1,000 or so Red Sox forums scattered around the Internet. We’re not doing service work here. We’re just talking baseball…

But how much did your posting it the Sox front office? After all, that’s what you said we were not doing by discussing Devers to 1b. If I were making a prediction, I’d say the 2025 Sox will have Devers at 3b, Casas at 1b and Yoshida at DH. Probably all true. Definitely all boring forum baseball chat…

Not a guarantee, but plenty of poor fielding 3b have moved to 1b and been adequate. Some have been stellar. There are historical precedents…

Duran is definitely a better trade chip. But that doesn’t mean he’s peaked. And yes, trading Duran now, while certainly defensible, would be a small market move nonetheless. But like any player, Roman Anthony included, Duran should be available “in the right trade”. We do all know that and I think people only say it nowadays to irritate Bellhorn. It’s kind of an obvious add…

True, although MLB likes teams to not try to steal headlines during the postseason. I’d be surprised ifDuran’s agent wasn’t pestering Breslow to start negotiating…