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The Boston Red Sox have a lot of roster upgrades to celebrate but they seem to be having a hard time finding the right home for one of their best players.
The team added the likes of Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler and Aroldis Chapman to the roster over the winter in hopes of returning to the playoffs. But perhaps their most consequential addition was third baseman Alex Bregman, who pushed franchise slugger Rafael Devers out of his long-time defensive position.
Devers voiced his hesitance to become a full-time designated hitter, which sparked some preseason drama. And now that the Red Sox have lost first baseman Triston Casas to a season-ending injury, Devers’ refusal to speak to the media about potentially moving there has fueled the position drama even further.
The Red Sox have a few options for a new first baseman, but moving Devers there would seemingly solve a lot of problems, opening up the DH position for other players and giving him the chance to play in the field again.
That solution has enough upside that Red Sox insider Sean McAdam recently predicted the move will ultimately happen.
“I think if you appeal to him as a teammate and stress how important it is to get production out of first base, all the while potentially opening up some at-bats for Masataka Yoshida and others at DH, then I think eventually, I just think that makes too much sense to not pursue in time,” McAdam said during a recent podcast appearance with fellow MassLive reporter Chris Cotillo. “Not on May 5, but maybe on June 1.”
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While McAdam expects that a move for Devers is the ultimate solution, he did note that it will probably take some time for the Red Sox to settle on it. And he’s hoping that Devers will be the one to push for the change.
“They’ve got to just play it cool here for a few weeks, and then … the best case scenario is he comes to them (and volunteers),” he added. “Then everybody wins.”
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Peter Chawaga is a veteran journalist covering Major League Baseball for The Sporting News. His MLB reporting has included feature interviews with commissioner Rob Manfred and Hall of Fame slugger David Ortiz, salary analysis, player rankings and more. He has covered baseball for Forbes, Yardbarker, Pitcher List, Athlon and other outlets.
With over ten years of newsroom experience, he has previously covered finance, technology, arts, and culture for newspapers, magazines, and websites nationwide. He graduated from Wake Forest University with a degree in English and journalism.
English (US)