Red Sox reportedly not expecting Rafael Devers to play defense in 2025
“Team officials remain very pessimistic about the chances of Devers taking the field at either corner.”
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The Red Sox and Rafael Devers appear ready to move on from a tumultuous first few months of the season off the field.
After hesitantly giving up third base to make room for Alex Bregman in March and publicly refusing to play first base in wake of Triston Casas’s knee injury, Boston reportedly doesn’t expect Devers to play defense in any capacity for the team this season, according to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam.
“Though manager Alex Cora has publicly left the door open for Devers to eventually start getting reps at first base this summer, privately, team officials remain very pessimistic about the chances of Devers taking the field at either corner,” Cotillo and McAdam reported Friday. “This week, one official expressed with some certitude that the experiment would not be happening.
“Unlike (Kristian) Campbell, Devers has not taken a single rep at first base during pregame work this season. In recent weeks, he has not been seen taking grounders at third base as he was earlier in the season.”
In a viral moment after a game earlier this month, Devers appeared to call out chief baseball officer Craig Breslow for asking him to play first base, weeks after making the switch to designated hitter to start the season. This prompted team owner John Henry and president Sam Kennedy to fly out to visit the club on the road in Kansas City for a meeting with Devers.
Cotillo and McAdam spoke with Breslow before Friday’s game against the Braves in Atlanta. The CBO left the door open for Devers to play the field despite MassLive’s reporting.
“Conversations are ongoing,” Breslow said on the field at Truist Park before Friday’s game. “It’s best to keep them internal. But obviously, there’s nothing to show right now. He’s still DHing and doing a hell of a job there.
“If it were to happen, it would require a transition. I don’t know exactly what that would look like, how long (it would take) or when it would begin. But as of right now, this is where we are.”
After Devers’s meeting with Boston’s brass on May 9, Breslow admitted that there was a miscommunication between himself and the player.
He doubled down on that sentiment in speaking with MassLive. However, Breslow also reaffirmed his role within the organization as a decision maker.
“Raffy and I have had conversations since that time,” Breslow said. “I have made sure that it’s clear that no part of this at all was personal. This was not anything other than trying to get as many options as we could in front of us and think about what’s best for the team.
“I have also maintained that that’s my job, independent of what the reaction might be or how frustrated, disappointed or angry someone might be. If I think there’s an opportunity to help the team, I have to at least be willing to explore that. Players are entitled to respond however they want. Raffy was obviously frustrated and emotional. It’s unfortunate it got to that but since that time, we’ve had conversations.”
Since the May 9 meeting, entering Friday, Devers is batting .377 with a 1.224 OPS, according to FanGraphs. He’s recorded 33 RBI, 29 hits (eight home runs), and 16 walks and runs apiece over that 19-game span.
As long as Devers is producing even close to that level in the batter’s box, it’s safe to say that he can play whatever position he wants to.
MassLive asked Breslow if he had brought up potentially playing third base this season.
“I did not,” Breslow said.
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