Red Sox Undecided On Infield Alignment Following Alex Bregman Deal – MLB Trade Rumors

MLB Trade RumorsBy Nick Deeds | February 15, 2025 at 4:32pm CDT The Red Sox officially inked star infielder Alex Bregman to a three-year deal earlier today, and the assumption to this point has been that Bregman would slide into the club’s vacancy at second base. While Bregman played third base throughout his time in Houston and won a Gold Glove award for his work at the position last year, he made clear at the outset of the offseason that he was willing to slide over to the keystone if his new team so desired. Incumbent star Rafael Devers is entrenched at third base in Boston and has made his preference to remain at the position plain over the years, so Devers at third and Bregman at second seemed like the cleanest way for the club to sort out its positional conundrum. It may not wind up being that simple, however. As relayed by Chris Cotillo of MassLive, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was noncommittal about the club’s infield plans.“We’ll talk about that later on,” Cora said when asked where Bregman will play, as relayed by Cotillo. “Right now, there’s a lot of stuff going on as far as we’re going to be roster-wise. We’ll make the decision when we have to make it… He’s a Gold Glove third baseman. He hasn’t played second base in the big leagues. I do believe he can be a Gold Glove second baseman, too. There’s other stuff that comes into play as far as roster construction and what’s better for the team and what can be the best lineup.”Cotillo reports that Cora’s hesitance to name a defined position for Bregman reflects real uncertainty within the organization about how the club’s lineup with shake out from a positional standpoint. According to Cotillo, the club is making an effort to keep a path open for top infield prospect Kristian Campbell to break camp with the team on Opening Day. Campbell has experience at shortstop and in the outfield but has long seemed best suited for second base with the Red Sox. Cotillo suggests that Bregman could see time at both second and third base if Campbell makes the club’s roster, while Campbell himself could see time in left field in addition to his work at the keystone with Jarren Duran moving over to center. Devers, presumably, would slide over to DH on days where Bregman is at the hot corner.If Campbell is ready for his big league debut, it’s hard to argue with the logic in keeping an open mind about how to make the pieces fit in the lineup. While Devers has been adamant about his desire to continue playing the field, Bregman and Campbell would likely be a more robust pairing defensively than Devers and Bregman given Bregman’s lack of experience at second base and Devers’s lackluster defensive numbers. It’s also not hard to imagine Campbell providing more on offense than the players who could have their playing time impacted by the decision to roster both Campbell and Bregman. In particular, Cotillo notes that Masataka Yoshida and Ceddanne Rafaela could be at risk of having their playing time reduced or even losing their roster spots if Campbell makes the team out of camp.Speculatively speaking, it would be possible to get both players in the lineup on occasion even with Campbell in the fold. If the club were to play Bregman at third base with Campbell at second against left-handed pitching, that would likely push Devers to DH and Yoshida to the bench. That would allow Duran to play left field with Rafaela’s superior glove in center. Against right-handers, Devers could reclaim the hot corner with Bregman moving to the key stone, Campbell heading to left field, and Duran sliding over to center with Rafaela on the bench. Yoshida is a career .239/.318/.351 hitter against southpaws and playing him in a strict platoon role may be Boston’s preference regardless of how the decision regarding Campbell shakes out.The righty-swinging Rafaela has reverse splits to this point in his young career, which would make him an imperfect choice to start primarily against lefty pitchers, but his true calling card is his defense and a combination of Duran, Rafaela, and Rob Refsnyder on the grass against southpaws would give the Red Sox an excellent defensive outfield. With that being said, if the Red Sox hope to develop Rafaela into a true everyday player at some point rather than the super utility role he currently finds himself in, the club may prefer to get him everyday playing time in Triple-A rather than sporadic reps in the majors. It’s also worth noting that carrying all three of Campbell, Rafaela, and Yoshida on the roster would effectively shrink the club’s bench, leaving just one roster spot available for Romy Gonzalez, David Hamilton, and Vaughn Grissom.Of course, all of this is predicated on Campbell hitting well enough this spring to earn a spot on the club’s Opening Day roster. Should Campbell look over-matched this spring, it seems likely the club would simply allow him more time to develop at Triple-A and use Bregman at second base on a regular basis until and unless Campbell earns a promotion to the majors. Even if Campbell can’t crack the big league roster on Opening Day, however, it seems likely he’ll get his first taste of the majors at some point this year, and this latest reporting provides a meaningful glimpse at what the club’s thought process could look like if Campbell forces his way onto the roster later in the year after not making the cut this spring.Boston Red Sox Alex Bregman Ceddanne Rafaela Kristian Campbell Masataka Yoshida Rafael Devers
deuceball 1 day agoIt’s like the racquel welch episode on Seinfeld, nobody wants to tell devers he’s no longer the third baseman
Django 1 day agoAnd he doesn’t swing his arms when he walks
cooperhill 1 day agoSeinfeld is not funny.
C-Daddy 1 day agoAnd the “Worst Take on the Internet Award” goes to…
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agoCooper – Blasphemy! Gotta love the Sein!
deweybelongsinthehall 1 day agoLike many shows that aired many seasons, there are GREAT and there are “why was this filmed” episodes but overall there were some very funny scenes starting with “I was in the pool!!!”.
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agoDewey – Agreed the early episodes were not that good. Glad they stopped including his standup act, although the “rooting for laundry” bit was awesome.
Non Roster Invitee 1 day agoRed Sox infield…”They’re real and they’re spectacular!”.
deweybelongsinthehall 1 day agoFever, for such a good comedic actor, I am not a fan of his stand up routines.
letitbelowenstein 1 day agoTrue. They’re so much fluff. By the way, I’m a cashier.
quonset point 1 day agoHis stand up routines were good for the time period he came from, like Ray Romano, Paula Poundstone, and Paul Reiser: that sport coat with jeans generation of stand up comedy.
mlb fan 1 day ago“The Office” is what’s “not funny”(tries too hard 2b funny). “Seinfeld, however is hysterical and easily the most well written show in television history.
thickiedon 1 day agoCurb Your Enthusiasm is an amusing “pseudo” spinoff
RickEO 1 day agoAmen
17dizzy 1 day agoThat makes me wonder who’s starting in what position anyone is playing for the Cardinals???
Here’s the only ones who are definitely starting at a designated position if Arenado is not traded.
Arenado 3rd Base
Winn SS
Contreras 1st Base
??? 2nd Base
??? RF
Nootbar CF
??? LF
??? C
??? DH
Where is Donovan playing?? Is he filling in every question mark???
Which Catcher is starting? The one who can’t hit or the one who can’t catch??
Where is Burleson going to play??? Is he like Donovan —— no particular spot —- just roll the dice of DH, 1st Base, or RF and put him there.
If RF doesn’t pop up for Burleson, Does Walker there !!Ugh!!!
DonOsbourne 24 hours ago@ DizzyI’d say Donovan is at 2B. Noot is in LF. Walker is in RF. The winner of a Spring Training competition between Siani and Victor Scott will determine CF. Herrera will get the first crack at C. Burly will play 1B against righties. Contreras will DH against righties and play 1B against lefties. Nolan Gorman is the biggest loser of Mo’s failure to trade Arenado. If Gorman absolutely crushes in ST, it’s possible he could push Burly out of playing time.
GASoxFan 1 day agoCooperhill- NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!
Bucket Number Six 24 hours agoSeinfeld wouldn’t be where he is today without Larry David.
Viveleempireevil 12 hours agoSo you’re the one dude who never got it. Check.
Poolhalljunkies 1 day agoI bet they arent done making moves
WaitTil2026 1 day agoMakes sense that they would wait until they found a GG 3B to take the job. You don’t want to move Devers to DH and then say, “Oops, we’ve decided you are playing 3b after all.”
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agoWait – About a month ago Cora said if they acquired Arenado then there would be a discussion about moving Devers. So *technically* it was revealed long ago the Red Sox were considering moving Devers, in fact there was an article here dedicated to that very topic. I just don’t see him becoming a fulltime DH this year, I think a platoon 3B is far more likely. Making him a fulltime DH right now would cause him to immediately be overpaid by at least $10M annually. Maybe Devers will request a trade? If he does, better off he’s a platoon 3B.
WaitTil2026 1 day agoMuch ado about nothing…The money is already spent. All that remains is deciding how best to deploy this roster. You seem to think that it makes the most sense to keep Devers in the field. I believe it is better to put a GG defender there, given the option.Nobody is going to demand a trade.
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agoWait – My position has always been, see how he does at first base. It’s not an unreasonable ask at all. Plenty of 3B have made the switch to 1B. But as I’ve told others, you can’t just look at things from a fan’s perspective. You have to look at it from a business perspective. Players are assets, you NEVER want to devalue your assets if you don’t need to do so. How do you know Devers wouldn’t demand a trade? Playing 3B is very important to him. He’s a proud man, he enjoys being on the field and the social interaction that comes with it. It’s like when a manager goes to the mound to remove the pitcher, but the pitcher refuses to hand over the ball and leave. Is the pitcher being a jerk? Or is it just the natural competitiveness that comes with being a professional athlete?
GASoxFan 23 hours agoFever – IMO Devers has over 30 million reasons a year to play wherever he’s asked. If he doesn’t like it, he can choose not to play and forfeit his salary. He will *never* be a legitimate contender for admission as a HOF candidate as a 3B. Ever.So it’s not like he’s being cost some legacy. If anything, moving off 3B *improves* his chances at being something more
Ignorant Son-of-a-b 23 hours agoI think there is no way on God’s green earth that Devers be allowed to play third base, especially when you have freaking Bregman on your squad (Who has to be a Top 5 defensive third baseman or damn close.) I don’t care if it’s DH or 1B but it would be utter malfeasance and high chicanery to kowtow to Devers in this circumstance. “Yeah let’s spend 40 million per annum on one of the best 3B in the league, but we will play him at a position he hasn’t played in MLB yet haha just for shizz & giggles because our pitching staff loves the challenge of having 20-30 extra errors to pitch around weeeee.”
cdouglas24000 23 hours agoHahah great reference sir. He’s not a good fielding 3rd baseman by any means. Move him to 1b. Trade casas to mariners for Castillo with M’s eating like 12 mil on the deal. It’s a win win for both clubs. It’s so easy.
Ignorant Son-of-a-b 23 hours agoWho is “racquel welch” ? I’m assuming some heiress of the Welch apple empire?
Pete’sView 4 hours agoDevers better get ready to DH and play 1b. He’s a clank glove.Bregman at 3b and Campbell (a can’t miss prospect at ss), Trevor Story (or Devers at 2b if Story can’t stay healthy.)With Casas at 1b, you gotta believe the Sox would love to move Devers, but with that contract . . .
sacrifice 1 day agoTrade Yoshida
stuart schlotterbeck 1 day agoYoshida’s contract and performance would make him difficult to trade.
GASoxFan 1 day agoNot to mention the current injury recovering from surgery
deweybelongsinthehall 1 day agoAll I’ve read is there should be no issues with the surgery. Unfortunately, it can’t make him run faster. He reminds of those slow motion movies scenes. Perfect form but my wife in her wheelchair could beat him out of the box to first.
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agoGaSox – I’m glad Breslow is reading my posts! LOL!!Campbell and Anthony, providing they look decent in ST, should be on the OD roster.Rafaela should work on his game in Woosta.Yoshida riding the bench against LHP is reasonable. If he’s not healthy, put him on the IL with a long rehab assignment.
websoulsurfer 1 day agoDewey, in that article by Chris Cotillo on MassLive that Nick Deeds links to as the source of this entire conversation, it says that Yoshida has not started throwing yet. Other articles have pointed out that Yoshida is hitting off a tee, but not against live pitching yet. The best bet is he starts the season on the IL and Devers starts the season at DH.
deweybelongsinthehall 1 day agoThanks Web.
WaitTil2026 1 day agoYoshida reportedly is still sore and won’t be ready for Opening Day? Tough to trade him until he is actually ready to play.
JoeBrady 12 hours agowebsoulsurfer
The best bet is he starts the season on the IL and Devers starts the season at DH.
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That’s actually an ingenious “excuse’ “We love Devers at 3rd, but with Yoshi’s injury, we need to start him at DH until Yoshi returns”.And then, of course, he never returns to 3rd. This is the best of all worlds. We actually need a backup 1B/3B anyway (though a righty would’ve been preferred).
Joemo 1 day agoYoshida’s roster spot is now far more valuable to the club than his performance. They need that DH spot to get ABs to Devers / Campbell / Grissom / Anthony. Pay down a good chunk of the deal, get a low A lottery ticket or career AAAA guy back who can be kept off the 40man and the trade is a big win for the Sox.
NYCityRiddler 1 day agoDevers is the worst defensive 3B in the AL if not all of MLB, as Casey Stengel used to say, if you don’t believe me you can look it up. Sooooo, please keep devers at 3rd. Ahahahahahaha!
Bucket Number Six 24 hours agoNYCRiddler is very sensitive.
THEY LIVE!!! 1 day agoBregman will replace Story at SS.
deweybelongsinthehall 1 day agoI hope not unless Story is playing second. We need him healthy. Say what you want about him but healthy he’s in the 95 percentile with the glove at both positions in my view and he’s proven to be a leader. Hopefully he rediscovers 75% of his stroke and I’ll be happy
Poolhalljunkies 1 day agoI think he means if/when story opts out after this 2025
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agoPool – Praise the Lord, I had forgotten about his opt-out. He’d have to think he can beat $55M for 2 years combined, I guess it’s possible if he has a good year.
Blah blah blah 1 day agoits easy stuff, you just have to move the worst defensive infielder in baseball off of his position. Any other problems I can help solve?
LifeisJustaFantasy 1 day agoHey Raffie, we’re paying u $31 million a year. You’ll play where we tell u to play. Bring Papi in to talk to him. “Hey kid, I was a DH, hit 541 HRs and I could be the Governor of Massachusetts if I wanted. Come to ballpark, hit bombs, cash your checks, fans will love you. Not as much as they love me but they will love u.”
slimray 1 day agothe problem with that,is devers isnt a steroid user so he wont hit that many home runs.second problem is papi was a worse fielder than even devers.papi on the field makes devers look like a gold glover.
outinleftfield 1 day agoSlim,Ortiz wasn’t a steroid user either. He got better after testing with penalties for failing started in 2004 and because he had a false positive on the 2003 survey testing he had to be tested 10 times per year after that. He is one of the few we can be relatively certain didn’t juice. Before 2004 he was a mediocre player with a 0.9 WAR average over parts of 7 seasons in the majors. When he no longer had to face juiced up pitchers, his stats started climbing. Ortiz was always primarily a DH and only started more than 44 games at 1B once in his career, in 1998 when he started 68 games there. When playing 1B he was below league average at a -4 DRS Devers has never been that good at 3B in his career other than 2020 when he had a -4 DRS. He has averaged a -9 DRS at 3B during his career. No one who played a position regularly is a bad enough infielder that they have made Devers look like a Gold Glove defensive player. Infielders as bad as Devers don’t get to do anything other than DH after a season or two on other teams.
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agoLife – He’s being paid less than $31M annually.
WaitTil2026 1 day agoDiscounting for deferrals, it is $29M.
stuart schlotterbeck 1 day agoI agree with you, but the next problem you’ll need to solve is putting up with Devers’ negativity in the clubhouse because the team bruised his huge ego.
LifeisJustaFantasy 1 day agoDevers only has to DH until Story gets hurt, and then Bregman can go to SS
deweybelongsinthehall 1 day agoArenado might still be coming. St. Louis has zero leverage now and no one really knows if they HAVE to move him. As far as Devers goes, the team has given him more chances than most would and is overpaying him so he’ll adjust. He looks in short bursts that he finally learned the position like Boggs did generations before yet at the end of the season, he’s by far the worst 3bman in the majors
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agodewey – It’s a messed up situation in St Louis. They haven’t tried to move any of their short term players, so it doesn’t seem like they are focused on a reset. if a contender loses their 3B to injury, they will come calling on Arenado. Especially if he has a good first half. But no, I think the Sox are done with position ;players.
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agoStuart – What if they promised Devers he’d play 3B at least until Age 30? Then he’d have good reason to be pissed if they lied.
stuart schlotterbeck 1 day agoIf they made that type of promise, then the FO must be incompetent. No player should be guaranteed to stay at one position. Injuries happen, aging happens, and better players come along. Only a fool would make a promise like that, and only a player with a huge ego would refuse to change positions in deference to a better player. Devers apparently has no consideration for what is best for the team, only his own selfish interests.
deweybelongsinthehall 1 day agoThings change. when he got his extension, it was thought he was improving. Obviously, he hasn’t.
stymeedone 1 day agoI know we promised, but wouldn’t you rather win?
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agoStu – They HAD to have discussed a position change timeline when they negotiated the extension. Yes, the Red Sox had/have some fools. Remember they told Kenley they would be investing in the team to be a serious contender, and of course that never happened. Not sure if it’s them being foolish, probably just them being liars as usual.With Devers it all might be a moot point anyway if he continues to have health issues.
rocky7 1 day agoAnd you put that “worst defensive infielder” at first where he has a chance to affect the three other infielders, catcher and pitcher on every ground ball fielded and throws from the outfield?……smart…..
Blah blah blah 1 day agoWhy does he have to play 1B? Casas plays 1st. Why can’t he DH? If he does play 1st, why is it so bad to hide your poor defenders at low value positions?
deweybelongsinthehall 1 day agoDH Rocky. If he could have played first, they would have experimented previously. Remember both Chavis and Dalbec came up at third. My belief (guess) is Devers is worse at first if that’s possible as otherwise they would have used him at first when especially Dalbec got his chance. From what I saw, he was a far better third baseman (probably at least average).
stymeedone 1 day ago@ dewey
They wouldn’t have experimented previously, because asking him to play anywhere but third would have bruised his ego, too.
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agoRocky – You mean like Vlad Jr, Yaz, and countless other players?If Schwarber can play 1B during a playoff run and in the postseason, so can Devers.
deweybelongsinthehall 1 day agoFever, I’m not so sure …
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agodewey – He’s got to be allowed a chance to try 1B. Let Casas DH when LHP are starting, with Devers at 1B. His biggest problems at 3B have been range and throws, neither of which factors much into 1B. It’s by far the easiest position on the field, some people here believe every 3B can handle 1B. I’m guessing probably at least 75% can.
Poolhalljunkies 1 day agoRocky..how do you know devers will be a poor 1b based on his play at 3b? They are totally differnt positions
websoulsurfer 20 hours agoPool, I will take a stab at that. Among infielders, Devers has the least range.
pzaccheo 1 day agoSo, what Jeter refused to do. Got it.
Blah blah blah 1 day agowhat does that have to do with this ? the Yankees gave in to Jeter, therefore the Sox must give in to Devers? I don’t follow.
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agoBlah – I think what he’s saying is there’s been others who refused to replace an inferior fielder with a better one. Yankee fans didn’t complain about it, and ARod was just as jerky as Bregman.
DonOsbourne 1 day agoI thought the Red Sox were probably the deepest and most complete team in the AL East before the Bregman signing. I hope this doesn’t cause more problems than solutions.It feels like a forced fit. Just like Story a few years ago. I wonder if ownership was the impetus of the signing.
all in the suit that you wear 1 day agoCampbell has only played 19 games at AAA. He can stay there most of the year without a problem.
WaitTil2026 1 day agoCampbell is older than many guys reaching the majors, no need to hold him back.
all in the suit that you wear 1 day agoCampbell is 22 and will turn 23 in June. He is 6 months older than Mayer. Not sure what your point is. I think he could stay at AAA for a while.
WaitTil2026 1 day agoSure, he could, but I don’t believe there is a need. He is ahead of Mayer in development.
JoeBrady 12 hours agoI’d keep Hamilton and whoever wins ST between Campbell & Grissom, and giving Grissom an unwritten edge since I’d like to see if he can play.
WaitTil2026 11 hours agoGood thoughts on Grissom.Maybe not impossible that both Grissom and Campbell will impress in ST? That might push Campbell to the OF (and Rafaela to the minors), but it could work.Too many good players is never a problem. Let’s hope they all shine!
JoeBrady 2 hours agoI’m curious about whether Campbell has the arm for 3rd. There is a reasonable chance Bregman opts out after 2025. It would be nice to have a move-in ready option available to us.My assumption is that Grissom & Hamilton, won’t be any worse than an average, minimum wage, platoon at 2nd, with some upside.
WaitTil2026 57 mins agoI’m told that Campbell’s arm is marginal for the left side of the infield, but I don’t hear anybody entirely ruling it out.
acell10 8 mins agoRafaela isn’t going back to the minors unless he’s on a rehab assignment at this point.
rocky7 1 day agoWow…..do you actually watch baseball to say the RS are the deepest and most complete in the AL East.
slimray 1 day agowhat r you smoking?the sox are still behind yankees and orioles.
DonOsbourne 1 day agoWant to place a wager? I’m not too proud to say I told you so.The Yankees are top heavy. They have some definite holes and very little depth.The Orioles are plenty deep. But their roster is strangely constructed. They weren’t playing well at the end of last year and I don’t feel they made the right moves to address the problems they faced last season.The Red Sox have excellent depth, both in terms of position players and pitching. They also have a well-stocked farm and payroll flexibility. They can add as the season goes if need be.The AL East is always tough. The Rays should be very good too. But I like Boston in 2025.
WaitTil2026 1 day agoThe Orioles are thin in the rotation.I’d put the Yankees ahead on talent, but the Red Sox have a deeper roster.
ROCKY07 1 day agoDon…Don…Don…I guess we can all applaud your faithful Fandom for the Sox…but your team analysis and prediction for Red Sox 2025 success if total fantasy land alternate universe land pal….
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agoDon – I agree the Red Sox have depth provided most everyone stays healthy. Even if Story and Duran go down for a long time, Anthony and Campbell could probably fill in admirably. But they’ve got a whole lot of lottery tickets that are dependent on them 1) Returning to health and 2) Rebounding from poor seasonsWho do they have coming off a decent full healthy season?Not Crochet, Buehler, Liam, Wilson, Giolito, Whitlock, Sandoval, Bregman, Yoshida, Devers, Casas, Story, Grissom, Rafaela.That is a LOT of question marks. BTW – If you want to wager, I’ll wager the Rays finish either with a losing record or in last place.
all in the suit that you wear 1 day agoRocky: Try some baseball analysis instead of insults.
DonOsbourne 1 day ago@ FeverEvery team in the East is counting on multiple players to rebound from injury or underperformance. That’s why I like the Red Sox depth.The Rays could have the best rotation in the division, if not the best in baseball. Health will be the determining factor but Tampa has as much talent in their rotation as Seattle. Yes, I said it. And yes, I have been drinking a little.
JoeBrady 12 hours agoAfter 6/12/24, the NYY & Bal were under .500. They might not be as good as you think.
kingbum 1 day agoI agree with ya Don….Let’s review what the Sox addressed2 pitchers with TOR potential leading the staffFurther Depth in Sandoval added to starting rotation Potentially dominant back-end of the bullpen Slaten, Chapman, and Hendriks is going to be very formidable Winckowski and Whitlock as your multiple innings guysGot the right handed power hitter to balance Devers, Duran, and CasasBest outfield talent in baseball with Anthony, Cedanne, and Duran with Abreu as your 4th I haven’t even touched Campbell, if the team stays relatively healthy, this team can win the division
ROCKY07 1 day agoCan only say look at my reply to your budy Don and double it….
DonOsbourne 1 day ago@ RockyFor the record, I am neither a Red Sox fan or a Yankee hater. I am simply giving objective, 3rd party opinions. I like the Red Sox roster and organizational depth, plus payroll flexibility. I’ve been wrong many times about many things. But I’ve been right a few times too.
Fever Pitch Guy 19 hours agoDon – I appreciate your candor, it’s refreshing.With good health, Sox definitely have a chance at the division. That’s why they play the games, and why I wager on them.
Longinus 12 hours agoDon (and Fever), i think the key to your point is that flexibility is the easiest part of sports team success to overlook. With video games and fantasy sports and even magazine/web site depth charts, we’re trained to think in terms of lineups and slots. But for all sports (and very much baseball), it doesn’t work that way.With injuries, rest, slumps, matchups, and more, depth and flexibility adds up. It’s all well and good to add a guy who is a pure plug-and-play hole filler or upgrade, but when an addition slides useful players into depth roles it can have a cascade effect. All of which is to say, it’s silly to see someone dismiss this sort of thing out of hand. Without question, the Red Sox have a lot of question marks, but the overlooked thing about question marks is that they can end up answered more to the positive and fuel performance better than expectations as easily as they can drag things down. Roster “issues” are the real bane for any team; a lot of people seem to accidentaly treat question marks as outright issues, but they’re not the same thing. They can be more trouble when teams lack depth, but if anything question marks for a deeper team are an efficient way to raise the ceiling without much overall risk.That’s basically the Dodger model, especially with pitching: pay your reliable core performers to be your anchors, and then carpet bomb with risk+upside depth so that you count less on those individual pieces and more on the sum talent of the entire group.
Longinus 12 hours agoIt’s not a forced fit. A forced fit was signing Carl Crawford, a left-handed speedy top of the order type whose defense was based on range, to a team that already had one of those (Ellsbury) in CF and the tiniest LF in baseball. Ellsbury and Crawford didn’t stack well, his defensive value was diminished, and that being a contract disaster was off and running.Bregman gives them the EXACT bat they need, and he has ample defensive flexibility. Far from a forced fit, in the short term he is basically a perfect fit. My concern was that to add him Boston would need to lock him in for 5-6 years and then have to carry him in diminished form in the medium term, and with this contract that didn’t happen.They signed Story when they already had Bogaerts AND, more importantly, when there was every reason to suspect that a guy who has poor plate discipline when breaking balls aren’t flattening out in thin air would struggle as a hitter playing anywhere else. Hugely different than the Bregman signing.In short, Crawford was a gluttonous luxury, Story was indeed a “have to do something to show we aren’t checked out” bad signing, and Bregman for this deal couldn’t make more sense.
Diabetic Rockstar 1 day agoThis has New York Yankees vibes and levels of dysfunction Chase the name free agent/trade acquisition, win the sports page for a few days, regardless of inconsequential things like positional fit, lineup fit, organizational fitThey are hindering development of their Top prospect (and maybe 2nd best prospect) so they can make room for a guy to play his second best position, moving the prospect seemingly at random to various spots of the diamond….meanwhile the shiny new toy is playing that second best position because his actual position is being held down by someone who actually is very bad at it, but also happens to be the highest paid player and team leader The Chisolm/Torres thing was humorous from afar last yrThis is just comic relief That’s all without taking in equation of paying a guy with two all star appearances, none since 2019, and who is 31 and coming off his worst statistical year with a OBP of just .315 the same amount of money per year as Aaron JudgeOh, and if that guy actually rocks out, he’ll leave anyway, but if he sucks your stuck w him for 3 yrs. Lolz
The Raven 1 day agoThere is truth to this. I get the feeling the RS are scratching their heads on this one. Perhaps they never thought he would sign, and now that they did, they need to do something with him.Another Yankees force fit this reminds me of is Ellsbury to play center field when they already had Gardner.
cooperhill 1 day agoSingles bury, one of the worst contracts EVER!
deweybelongsinthehall 1 day agoForget the money but pitching and defense wins most of the time. Getting Devers off third improves both. They have the best defensive OF in the league barring trades or injuries. If Story stays healthy and Devers is not at third, they have an average to plus infield (assumes Casas is at first, they do not get Arenado, Bregman at third and Grissom or Campbell at second).
all in the suit that you wear 1 day agoI have a feeling that Cora can talk Devers into being the full-time DH. They can’t say Bregman will play third base until they talk with Devers.
deweybelongsinthehall 1 day agoAgreed.
Uncle Pedro’s Dancing Kittens 1 day agoPart of that may depend on how the youngsters pan out this spring. If they don’t have an obvious fit at 2nd, Bregman might end up there. I am still waiting to see if they get Arenado. It seems like overkill, but that would definitely move Devers to DH. I really hope they don’t trade Casas, because I want to see what he can do if he is healthy all year. I could see Yoshida being unloaded with a decent but not great prospect attached.
4WSsince04 22 hours agoAllin – agree 100%. Devers hurt both shoulders last year. It should not be that difficult to talk Devers into playing nearly all his games at DH.
BrisbaneGreg 20 hours agoSuit, I hope Cora does just that. Devers is on the fringe of the top 10 as a hitter, somewhere about 12th, 14th. As a hitter he’s worth every penny, his contract isn’t even that big anymore. But….. he’s cabbage in the field, makes the SS look bad, and drags down his value, and every pitcher that trots out there.
I don’t like Bregman, but he will make the team better overall if he plays 3rd. If Devers can’t play 1b, then off to DH it is. And if he doesn’t want to DH, trade him, because if your “franchise” player isn’t a TEAM player, then it’s time to say goodbye..
GASoxFan 1 day agoDevers hasn’t ever really taken or embraced a leadership role…. and, he’s not really the highest paid player anymore either, just highly paid.
Astros_fan_in_Aus 1 day agoTrue, he is not the highest paid, now that Bregman has joined, but Devers’ contract sees his AAV increase in 2027 from $29.5M to $33M, and they have him untill he is 37.
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agoDiabetic – So true! There’s a right way to do things and a wrong way. The Red Sox often choose the wrong way. Cora specifically said over a month ago that if they signed his buddy Bregman he would be the everyday 2B. Clearly that was yet another lie from the sociopath.At this point a 3B platoon makes sense. Devers would be less pissed and still be able to work on his defense. The problem is the front office isn’t capable of longterm planning. Hate the Dodgers for spending if you want, but they set a 3-year plan and follow it. Whereas the Red Sox are all about impulsive decisions with no thoughts of how the future could play out. They do everything by the seat of their pants.
SteveC 1 day agoI have my issues with Cora, too but referring to someone as a sociopath who you don’t know personally is absurd and ridiculous.
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agoSteve – A sociopath is someone who is very comfortable lying and does so often. That fits Cora to a T. He will lie right to your face, and he will have a huge smile while doing so. I’m not at all saying he has violent tendencies if that’s what you think I meant.
SteveC 1 day agoA sociopath is someone who lacks empathy. People can lie without being sociopaths. Drug addicts lie all the time, that doesn’t make every drug addict a sociopath.
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agoSteve – Did Cora demonstrate he had empathy when he bragged to his 2018 team that he “stole the f’ng World Series” in 2017? Bragged to the exact same players who were on the exact same team that lost the 2017 ALDS because of his cheating? Bragged to Chris Sale who was probably the biggest victim of Cora’s 2017 cheating?There’s plenty of other examples, but I think that one is enough. Cora has major issues.
all in the suit that you wear 24 hours agoThere is no basis to conclude the Red Sox do not plan for the future and Cora is a sociopath. Fever Pitch Guy is a troll.
Longinus 11 hours agoFever, you’re confusing a pathology with an underlying condition. Being a sociopath is the “why” behind various behavior pathologies, including the form of lying you referred to. But that lying is just a pathology, meaning it can be the product of other conditions too. You see that with disease diagnosis all the time, with a couple of key pathologies pointing to a most likely diagnosis that then is found to be wrong when more symptoms are found and considered.
Longinus 11 hours agoFever, a couple of things.For one, anticipating that Bregman would play 2B in theory and then saying things aren’t set yet isn’t a lie. The obvious way for Boston to approach things right now is to test things out and see how the different options look in camp. He probably still figures that Bregman will end up opening as the primary 2B, and giving a more nuanced answer than the simple one before isn’t necessarily a “lie”.As for the Ora’s planning, sorry, you’re dead wrong there. The plan has been pretty clear for years now: tread water with decent talent and spending just short of the tax threshold (no need to push when lacking the pieces needed to be a top contender) while waiting for Bloom to rebuild the system and let some bad contracts lapse, then look for signing the right bigger deals while the first wave of youth starts to arrive, and then once some of that youth establishes itself be ready to resume “pushing” again with pieces to fill out the roster.The problem with that plan is that two things did not go the way they hoped:
1) Bloom took too long to get things into position. It was expected to be in place by 2024, but it only finally got there in 2025, by which time he was gone. The delay has understandably “left the natives (fans) restless”, and has left the org having to try to balance sticking to the plan and not losing the fans too much.
2) At exactly the same time as Boston reached the point of looking for the “right” big investment pieces, the market shifted into the same place as the early 2000s, with teams willing to give both max AAVs AND max lengths. Numerous contracts for both stars and solid players have looked clearly inflated and unwise, and then gone wrong, and so Boston was left without the sorts of signing options that it had anticipated based on how things had been beforehand. Any plan that relies on outside adds is limited by the options available (and interested in your team), and overpaying for too long stars who should be good for a few years but very much in decline by the time Boston should be fully coming together, and having to overpay for too long solid players who could too easily lock up lineup slots with major money, was a poor fit for the plan.I’m NOT saying this was the best or even a good plan – just that this is my best and honest read of their plan. The lazy clickbait take from the media was “look, they’re not spending anymore, all they care about is money”, which is goofy given that the change from DD to Bloom was very clearly about a major org and process rework. Maybe the selected plan was unwise, but it’s a plan, one that needed years to execute and is still in the process (though finally on the cusp of the aimed for big breakout that would start to make the plan a payoff, if the breakout happens).
Longinus 12 hours agoThis couldn’t be more wrong. Boston pretty obviously loved the idea of what Bregman would bring to the table in the short term, but the real question was whether that was worth the level of compensation that would still need to be paid to a likely diminished player in 4+ years. The moment Bregman presented that he was willing to accept 3 years at most, I bet Boston couldn’t jump fast enough.The biggest whiff in your comment is that it completely ignores the present reality of Boston. The org needed to look for ways to boost the present, but needed to retain the ability to let the top prospects contribute. It’s hard to thread that needle. You can’t count on the prospects even overall, much less in 2025, but you also can’t lock yourself out from them.So they sign a guy whose bat is exactly what they need AND who has the capacity to offer the flexibility to allow the other pieces to organically fall into place, and you want to paint that as a BAD thing? Foolishness. With no crystal ball to tell how much and when the prospects would help, there was no perfect answer here, but this is about as good as could be hoped.When did it become a bad thing to enter spring training ready to let the players show how they fit best? They’re not rigid robots or data profile sets in a video game that can only be used X ways and that’s that.That you try to comp this to the Yankees is a joke. The reason they often struggle to present a good-fitting roster is because they commit to too many pieces with a lack of flexibility, e.g. adding the long contract right handed tower power corner OF Stanton to the right handed tower power Judge. This move is the virtual opposite of that.
JoeBrady 2 hours agothe same amount of money per year as Aaron Judge
====================
Amazing number of comments from people not knowing the Bregman deal.
bbgods 1 day agoRomy Gonzalez is much better than I thought against LHP. Roster Resource has him platooning with Yoshida. I imagine that would put Gonzalez at 2B, Bregman at 3B, and Devers at DH vs. LHPs.
deweybelongsinthehall 1 day agoI like Gonzalez but it was just one season and there’s a reason why he was a free agent. I’m not counting on him but it would be great if he delivers.
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agodewey – I like Romy too, but he’s worthless against RHP which makes it difficult to justify his taking a valuable roster spot on this team.
Thec’s 1 day agoWhy would you sign an all star 3B and have him play 2B when your current 3B sucks at defense? Devers needs to be the highest paid DH in the league
LouWhitakerHOF 1 day agoExactly! Sign a gold glove 3rd baseman and it’s a no brainer. He plays 3rd base.
King Floch 1 day agoSoto is actually the highest paid DH, it’s just going to take the Mets a couple of years to figure that out and accept it.
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agoKing – Might be similar with Ohtani if he can’t return to pitching and stay healthy for a few seasons. I have no idea if he can play OF.
Superstar Prospect Wander Javier 1 day agoIt is really simple:C Wong/Narvaez
1B Casas
2B Hamilton/Gonzalez
3B Bregman
SS Story
LF Yoshida/Duran
CF Duran/Rafaela
RF Abreu/Refsnyder
DH DeversAnd if Campbell plays his way into second base, then one of Hamilton or Gonzalez starts the season in AAA.
GASoxFan 1 day agoJust remove Yoshida from that lineup. He supposedly had a blip in his recovery from surgery anyways, so stash him on the IL then a minors stint as long as possible, hopefully most of the season. Then play him just enough tobtrade him while eating $$$$
deweybelongsinthehall 1 day agoWhere did you read Yoshida is behind schedule? I’ve read the opposite, that’s he’s expected to be ready for opening day
websoulsurfer 1 day agoThe article linked to in this article by Nick Deeds for one. He hasn’t even started throwing yet. “…incumbent DH Masataka Yoshida — who has not yet started throwing in his recovery from offseason labrum surgery” Other articles have noted that while he began swinging in early February, he has not progressed beyond hitting off a tee. Yoshida himself said at your fan fest that while he is not sure he can be ready by opening day.
Sick of MLBTR Ads 1 day agoPackage Yoshida, Abreu, a prospect, and throw in a bar of soap
websoulsurfer 1 day agoOnly problem with that is Yoshida can’t play in the field at all right now and when he could his defense was horrible,
Gomez Toth 1 day agoSo much for Roman Anthony making the team.
Big whiffa 13 hours agoDevers makes to much to DH. They have to move him to first. not so simple
Sick of MLBTR Ads 9 hours agoYoshida makes too much to be a sub-par DH. I would much rather have Devers at DH. If all he has to do is hit, it’s a plus
cooperhill 1 day agoDevers is a blob who’s range is knee to knee, move to 1st!
rocky7 1 day agoMover to first where his range, or lack of as you say, affects fielding many..many ground balls in the infield……smart….
Indianfan 1 day agoIsn’t that what spring training’s for or are you just really desperate to write another worthless Red Sox story?
CravenMoorehead 1 day agoI mean there’s already a “worthless Red Sox Story” who signed a contract with Boston a few years ago 🙂
2baggr 1 day agoRed Sox messed this one up just like the ARod/Nomar situation. Truly nothing but a dick-slap to your best player. He said he didn’t want to move positions. Maybe Bregman at SS? I know he doesn’t look like Dustin Pedroia, but he might be better than Story at the position. It’s possible that the damage is already done.Walker Buehler, Aroldis Chapman, Gerrit Crochet. Come on, these aren’t the lovable team chemistry kind of misfits.
Sick of MLBTR Ads 1 day agoPedroia was a second baseman…
CaseyAbell 1 day agoDevers wasn’t anywhere close to being the Red Sox’ best player last year. It was Duran by a mile, no matter what evaluation system you look at. But they’re talking about moving Duran all over the outfield so they can somehow fit everybody into the lineup…all because Devers gets pouty about moving off third base.Devers is a fine hitter, below-average fielder and worse baserunner. He’s really a DH but Boston is afraid of hurting his feelings. Well, when you’ve got ten years and ridiculous dollars tied up in the guy, you do have to cater to his whims.So the Sox have to do the shuffle with Bregman. The bright spot is that if Bregman dumps enough doubles off the wall, he opts out after one year and the Sox don’t have to worry about the infield logjam any more.
websoulsurfer 1 day agoDevers is arguably the worst defensive 3B in MLB.
stymeedone 1 day agoNo team is going to top $40MM for 2026, so I expect he will stay and opt out after the 2nd year, when he only has to top $40MM in the next contract.
outinleftfield 1 day agoThey don’t have to top $40 million. They have to top the present day value of his deal. $32 million with no deferrals does it.
websoulsurfer 20 hours agoIt depends on how Bregman plays and he doesn’t have to top $40 million. He isn’t getting paid that much. What he is being paid is worth $31.7 million. That is all he has to get more than to make it worth opting out. A 5/150 deal with no deferrals or a 6/180 deal makes it worth moving on.
JoeBrady 2 hours agowebsoulsurfer
What he is being paid is worth $31.7 million.
=======================
As I’ve mentioned numerous times, it is astonishing how many posters have NO IDEA what Bregman’s salary.
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agoCasey – Sorry but you just proved you didn’t follow the team last year. Devers carried the team through late August until the shoulder pain got to be too much. Ragging on him for playing injured to help the team is not cool. August 2nd he had a .992 OPS, guess how many other players in MLB had at least that high an OPS.Even on August 19th he had a .962 OPS before going into a massive injury-related slump. He was going oppo more often than ever before, he was hitting mammoth homeruns on pitches well out of the strike zone, and he even homered in 6 straight games. Duran had a great year, but after April 6th his highest OPS was just .882
WaitTil2026 1 day agoYou are correct that Devers has the better bat, but Duran is better on the basepaths and contributed similar overall offensive value. Add in their defense and it isn’t even close.You sure you watched the same team I did? Devers had a good season. Duran belonged in the MVP conversation – and in fact finished 8th in the voting.They need both. And maybe Devers is better in 2025. But last year Duran was easily the best on the Red Sox.
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agoWait – I was referring only to the time period when Devers was healthy enough to hit. Offensively he was head and shoulders (no pun intended) above Duran as the OPS I referenced proves, but his defense suffered even more because of the injuries. Of course over the entire season Duran was the better player …. Devers was in much pain and eventually got shut down for the season. BTW – Duran playing LF is such a waste of talent.
WaitTil2026 24 hours agoBaserunning is part of offense and comes close to equalizing it, even for the time periods you mentioned. Duran was really good.Agreed that he is most valuable in CF.
kingbum 23 hours agoBregman is staying 3 years, he’s not getting more than $40 million if he hit .400 and has an OPS of 1.000 or better because of his age. This was a signing because fans wanted the team to spend. I believe that it will all work out, Yoshida gets traded or cut eventually. They severely overpaid because everything came together and they think Bregman was the final piece to win the division. I’d trade Cedanne with Yoshida and see what I can get (preferably a catcher) ya can then move up Anthony and Campbell….
websoulsurfer 20 hours agoBregman is staying somewhere between 1 and 4 years. If he has a great 2025, the answer is probably one unless he is extended. If he has a bad 2025, the answer is probably 4. Bregman is not making $40 million, he is making $31.7 million in NPV. If he hits .400 with a 1.000 OPS or even close to that, he opts out and will get 6/200 and probably more regardless of his age. Rafaela is the best option in CF and he is already signed to a team friendly deal. The Red Sox will have to include someone with actual value to get rid of Yoshida as well as eat at least $36 and likely $40 million of the $55.8 million he is owed.
JoeBrady 12 hours agowebsoulsurfer
Bregman is not making $40 million, he is making $31.7 million in NPV.
======================
It amazes me how many posters don’t know what Bregman’s salary is, this long after the signing.
DanielDannyDano 1 day agoOver/Under on Alex Bregman games started at SS is 40?
websoulsurfer 1 day agoZero.
NerdPowahh 1 day agoSo, Scott Harris really was talking about the Red Sox signing Bregman to placate whining fans.As if Boston was ever the little sisters of the poor in the first place.
dsett75 1 day agoI didn’t think of that. Good point. I was thinking Toronto this winter or Avila pivoting to Baez in the past.
Old York 1 day agoMake him the starting catcher.
deweybelongsinthehall 1 day agoI’ve been saying it all winter (and last year as well). For the Sox to win, Devers needs to DH. Injuries, another trade and the performance of Campbell (or others) in spring training will dictate but I’m still thinking Yoshida will not be on the roster on opening day. Arenado is also still a possibility if St. Louis needs to cut payroll despite their talking otherwise.
websoulsurfer 1 day agoWith him not being able to throw at all yet and still hitting only off a tee, I am betting he is on the IL for the Red sox to start the season. Once he shows he is healthy on a rehab assignment and the Red Sox realize they are going to have to eat about $40 million of what he is owed to get rid of him, they will trade him.
Luke Strong 1 day agoAre you kidding me??? You just signed a guy to a 40 mil a year contract and you didn’t have it figured out in advance exactly how you were going to deploy the team with him on it?
Sick of MLBTR Ads 1 day agoIncoming trade. Better to get the bat and figure it out later
whyhayzee 1 day agoGreat problem to have right now. Really the only “problem” is that there is no clear cut inarguably solid shortstop on the team. And that’s because Story hasn’t been healthy enough to determine whether he is a solid shortstop.
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agohayzee – During the past two years Story has played SS for 541 innings and during that time is 11th in MLB for OAA, 9th for UZR, 11th for Range, and 12th for DRS.He is rock solid at SS.
dsett75 1 day agoI have a feeling they didn’t expect to get him and now that they have, they might figure that they’re gunna have to trade somebody
Sick of MLBTR Ads 1 day agoHow could they not expect to get him? They could have always turned around and said no
Sick of MLBTR Ads 1 day agoCan we all acknowledge how Yoshida is the biggest elephant in the room?
all in the suit that you wear 1 day agoYes. The trouble is Yoshida is recovering from shoulder surgery and not tradeable at the moment. Pay the $30 per year membership and all the ads go away. Easily worth it.
Sick of MLBTR Ads 1 day agoFor stories like this with Much Ado About Nothing? No thanks… I’ll guerilla post on something I like then leave when everyone gets prissy
Ma4170 1 day agoBregman 3b, Devers DH
No place for fragile egos at this level
Big whiffa 13 hours agoIt’s not an ego thing. It’s a you can’t pay a full time DH 30 mil plus for several seasons in a row bc it limits your lineup flexibility
Ma4170 12 hours agoIf the DH is your best hitter it’s not that limiting. And they’re not saying he can’t sit a day or play a game in the field once in a while to let others slot in at DH. It’s really not that limiting. It has sounded like the issue is he doesn’t want to move from 3b, so I’m going off that info.
Reynaldo’s 1 day agoIs Bregman and the other lying, cheating clown Alex Cora no longer on speaking terms after their fallout?
all in the suit that you wear 1 day agoNope.x.com/ChrisCotillo/status/1890445753409019947?ref_…
websoulsurfer 1 day agoIf you believe that they have not already talked to both Bregman and Devers about where they will be playing, I have a bridge I would like to sell you.
Mikenmn 1 day agoRed Sox too smart an organization to not have pre-planned out the positional thing–especially at that $ amount, so I’d suggest this reticence may be more for the cameras
Poolhalljunkies 1 day agoAgree they are very much considering how devers might feel and handling it internally i would guess…they dont really need to involve fans and media in the decision ..we will all see who mams 3b come opening day
YankeesBleacherCreature 1 day agoIt’ll be Bregman at 3B. Him and Devers will talk it out in S.T. Cora did the right thing by being ambiguous because he’ll get asked the same question every day. There is no way Bregman would have signed not having a good idea where he’s going to play.
Fever Pitch Guy 1 day agoPool – If you meant to write “we will all see who maims 3B come Opening Day” I would have to say only Devers is capable of maiming 3B.
Reynaldo’s 22 hours agoAlex Cora is smart?
Samuel 21 hours ago1. Alex Cora was a smart player, and is a smart manager.2. Depth Charts are no longer valid in MLB……Decades ago teams had at least a day off during the week, often two. That was when double-headers were played on Sundays. But that’s gone as like the NBA, teams have to fit in more and more games during the season to meet the outrageous player salaries as well as to get the post-season started ASAP because the extended playoffs can run a month.Add in that the game is now played at a hyper level, with pitchers throwing out their arms, shoulders, etc. and position players diving all over the place on defense. This assures that physical injuries are going to happen and even if a player stays healthy all year, he still needs to be sat down at times because there are few off-days. Consequently we have an absurd amount of player transactions to a point that most teams roster 22-26 position players and 30-34 pitchers during the course of a season – with the daily roster allowing 13 for each group. I’d suggest that Mr. Cora will talk with the Red Sox infielders during Spring Training and explain that a few will be playing multiple positions as well as DH’ing during the year. Actually, all MLB teams do that now.
mlb fan 1 day ago“Undecided on infield alignment” = Rafael Devers has a GAZILLION years left on his contract and doesn’t want to move off third base.
King Floch 1 day agoSo they signed him to one of the largest yearly salaries in baseball history for multiple years without figuring out where he would actually fit on their roster.Alrighty then…
Big whiffa 13 hours agoHe’s playing 3rd and they 100% signed him to play 3rd
30 Parks 1 day agoBregman plays third – simple.
Goose 1 day agoThis is easy. Bregman is the 3rd baseman. Whoever has a better spring at 1B between Casas and Devers plays there. The loser is the full time DH. The only way that changes is if Seattle or another team comes back and trades for Casas with a deal that works for the Sox.
Northeasternskier 1 day agoToo much invested in Hamilton; Grissom doesn’t need to use an option to be send back down to AAA; Gonzalez was a waiver pick up. If he doesn’t get released, he’ll compete with Sogard in AAA. The writing is on the wall in caps.
antcell22 1 day agoGood luck turning two
letitbelowenstein 1 day agoThe only “issue” seems to be second base. You have Casas, Story and Bregman in the infield and Devers, whether he likes it or not, as DH. You occasionally plop Devers at third and DH Bregman or Story once a week or so. The Red Sox are trying to save some face by attempting to move Vaughn Grissom in at second so they can salvage the Sale trade.
stymeedone 1 day agoSo you would have them move Devers off 3B because he is a poor fielder, and then put Grissom at 2B, where he is a poor fielder. Brilliant!
BurnerK 1 day agoSomeone is being traded they just don’t want to announce anything.
Michael Chaney 1 day agoI’m not a Red Sox fan, but what’s the hesitation with moving Devers off of third? If they’re this worried about how he’ll react to a position switch, maybe he’s not the guy they should have extended. He’s still pretty young but he’s still a bad defender, and as he ages it’s unlikely that improves. He obviously has the bat to profile at first or DH, and maybe they don’t want to commit those two spots to him and Casas if they want lineup flexibility, but those are two really good hitters so they can worry about the flexibility later. They don’t seem to be fans of Yoshida, so not having a spot in the lineup for him doesn’t seem like their main issue. This entire conversation is probably also all for nothing anyway because Story will inevitably get injured and Rafaela or even Mayer will end up playing short.
ClevelandSteelEngines 1 day agoSo trade Bregman for a 2B?
CoachTucci 1 day agoLMAO
Rsox 1 day agoSounds like they will try to see Bregman’s work at 2B while simultaneously begging and pleading with Devers to move to DH/1B
websoulsurfer 20 hours agoThey don’t have to plead. You ARE moving to DH. If you refuse, then you will be placed on the restricted list and won’t get paid. Man up and do the job you are being paid to do, HIT.
Poolhalljunkies 5 hours agoSo you would play it that way with one of your best enployees? Im sure your people love you lol…fwiw devers will dh for the foreseeable future due to lingering should problems…its a spin but this way the player saves face and everyone gets what they want…the point is why piss people off if there is another way ..they are not in the military
juggernaut 1 day agoRafaela needs to be the everyday CF and have him develop his batting. He has an 8 year $50 million contract to boot. He is such a premier defender than any other in CF on the team as well. This needs to happen. Campbell has shot up the prospect ranks and looks really good, but he must earn his spot this spring. Cora will speak to all the players over the first week and figure out the beat alignment for the team. A really good problem to have! Options are great to have!
bcjd 1 day agoLike any multi billion dollar operation, the Sox have a plan, and they have contingencies, and they don’t publicly commit to anything before it’s strategically justified.When they signed Bregman, they surely had a plan A, and a long list of possible alternatives depending on how things shake out. Cora probably has a current sense of what’s likely, but isn’t announcing it yet because there are too many moving parts, and he doesn’t want to make promises he might have to break. My guess is the current tentative plan is for Devers to be the opening day 3b. Campbell will start the year in AAA. Yoshida on the IL. Bregman and Story up the middle and Casas at first. OF will be Durran, Rafaela and Abreu/Refsnyder. Houck has earned the opener day start. But that plan could change if there’s an injury, or if Campbell looks like the second coming of Pedroia, or if Devers sees the writing on the wall, or if a trade possibly comes along. The conversations in the clubhouse and manager’s office will be ongoing. We’ll only get hearsay, speculation and the official company line.
outinleftfield 1 day agoI call BS on that headline and on Cora’s interview. There is no way that the Red sox spent that much money and didn’t talk to both Bregman and Devers about what the plans were before putting a pen to paper.
cooperhill 23 hours agoThe Devers contract will go down in history as one of the worst ever. No plate discipline, as in pushing yourself away from your dinner plate!
luckyh 20 hours agoHe looks in shape this year. No belly.
Doug Fistered 20 hours agoSox should eat a chunk of Yoshida’s contract to trade him
Big whiffa 13 hours agoReds GM says he’s all in on proven controllable assets. I cringe at the cost, but go get casas !
JoeBrady 12 hours agoFor all the talk about Casas, the RS don’t have anyone to replace him. It makes no difference if one thinks he is underrated, or a potential 35 HR/.300 hitter.And I’d prefer Devers at 3rd over Devers at 1st.
vpsd 10 hours agoDevers should be a 1b if he wants to be in the field
SportsFan0000 10 hours agoBregman is a gold glove 3B.(2024 again)Devers is far from that.If Bregman is not the starter @ 3B, then Cora should not be the Manager.
all in the suit that you wear 9 hours agoAlex Bregman introductory press conference:m.youtube.com/watch?v=e3l6eT6BFPI
fenwayfrank 9 hours agoThis is great news. It means they’re not sold on the idea of leaving Devers at 3b. Do what’s best for the team & inform Raffy its 1b or DH. He’s a big boy & needs to accept the decision for whats best for the team. We will see as the spring progresses.
B dog 351 9 hours agoIt’s not little league, where the coach’s kid plays his favorite position. It’s competitive baseball. It’s also a team sport no I in team as we were all taught. Best player plays the position. Devers to full time DH and back up 3b / 1b. Breslow should grow a set and cut the losses in the Yoshida deal. He’s not the one who brought him in . If anyone’s feelings are hurt , tuff luck you’re getting paid for your job.
Poolhalljunkies 5 hours agoBeing reported devers shoulders will prevent him from playing the field for a while…no impact on swing…fenway spin cycle on high
snowyphile1 2 hours agoWho will pound on trash cans in the dugout?Please login to leave a reply.Log in Register MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/red-sox-undecided-on-infield-alignment-following-alex-bregman-deal.html