Red Sox make strange Rafael Devers choice on Alex Bregman off days
03/28/2025 07:39 PM
The Boston Red Sox made several huge moves in the offseason to improve the team. The biggest move among position players was the signing of former Astros star 3rd baseman Alex Bregman to upgrade the lineup. While there is little doubt that Bregman’s strong right-handed bat appears to be a huge weapon to have at Fenway Park, his spot in the infield appeared to be in direct conflict with Red Sox star Rafael Devers.
Both men have been established stars at 3rd base. While Devers has given the Red Sox an outstanding bat since his promotion to the Major Leagues in the 2017 season, his fielding has been indifferent at best and poor by several of the metrics employed to judge fielding competence. Bregman is one of the game’s best fielding 3rd basemen.
At the start of free agency, Devers appeared to dig his heels in and say that he was not going to give up his position to the newcomer. However, as the weeks of spring training rolled by, Devers changed his perspective. He was in the lineup on Opening Day as the team’s designated hitter and appeared to make the adjustment without issue.
A day after the start of the season — the Red Sox won the season opener against the Texas Rangers — Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that Devers would remain as the team’s designated hitter even when Bregman needs a day off. Cora said that infielders Romy Gonzalez and David Hamilton would play 3rd base when Bregman needs time off.
"He's the DH of the Boston Red Sox," Cora said about Devers and his role with the team.
Red Sox strategy behind Cora’s declaration
Cora has laid out a clear directive that Bregman is Boston’s 3rd baseman and Devers is the team’s designated hitter. That position makes some degree of sense because the manager does not want any debate to linger about the two players fighting over the position.
By assuring the Boston media and Red Sox fans that Devers is not going to play 3rd base once or twice a week, he is demonstrating that 3rd base belongs to Bregman and that Devers no longer has a claim on it.
However, if Devers is just the team’s full-time DH, what becomes of Bregman when he does need time off from playing the field? Will he simply sit on the bench on those days and not contribute? That would seem to make the Red Sox a weaker team because Bregman’s right-handed bat should be a solid attribute on an every-game basis.
There was talk during the recruitment process that Bregman would moved to 2nd base if the Red Sox signed him, but that no longer appears to be an option. Keeping Devers as a full-time DH may prevent position confusion, but it may result in a weaker lineup for the Red Sox.
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