Should the Red Sox call up Rafael Devers soon?
Welcome to Boston.com’s Sports Q, our daily conversation, initiated by you and moderated by Chad Finn, about a compelling topic in Boston sports. Here’s how it works: You submit questions to Chad through Twitter, Facebook, email, his Friday chat, and any other outlet you prefer. He’ll pick one each day (except for Saturday) to answer, then we’ll take the discussion to the comments. Chad will stop by several times per day to navigate. But you drive the conversation.Rafael Devers is tearing it up at Pawtucket since the Red Sox moved him up from Portland. Supposedly he’s competent defensively. Even if he’s not totally ready, isn’t he better than what the Sox have at third right now? Think they call him up soon? – Ghost of Wilton Veras
I’ve been skeptical that this will happen, but I’m starting to come around to thinking they may try to capture lightning in a bottle with him like they did with Xander Bogaerts at third base in 2013.
Consider the parallels: Bogaerts was the No. 8 prospect in the minors per Baseball America before the 2013 season. That year, he slashed .311/.407/.502 with six homers in 56 games at Portland before being advanced to Pawtucket. There, he went .284/.369/.453 with nine homers in 60 games. He made his major-league debut on August 20 and was one of the Red Sox’s steadiest players in the postseason. He was 20 years old.
Devers was the No. 18 prospect in the minors per Baseball America before this season. He slashed .300/.369/.575 with 18 homers in 77 games at Portland before being advanced to Pawtucket last week. In six games and 25 at-bats, he has two homers and a .364/.440/.682 slash line. Brock Holt came back from his rehab assignments raving about him. He’s 20 years old.
Now, it’s not a perfect parallel. Devers got more time in Double A than Bogaerts did. And Bogaerts will have had a longer gestation in Triple A should Devers get called up in the next couple of weeks. But the lines of their ascents can be drawn, and they’re very similar.
I believe he will get called up by the Red Sox at the end of the month, whether or not they acquire a veteran like Jed Lowrie or Asdrubal Cabrera to mix in at third base. Think he’ll be pretty good, too. Of course, this is all presuming the Sox don’t trade Devers for Manny Machado. (Insert whatever the snarky emoji is here.)
What do you guys think? Should the Red Sox call up Devers soon? And will they? Let me know in the comments.
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