What can Red Sox do about defense of third baseman Rafael Devers?
By Sean Penney
The solution seems fairly simple then, right? Devers is a butcher with the glove so the Red Sox need to move him away from third base. Well, not so fast.
For starters, where would you move him to? As poorly as he’s played in the field, Boston can’t afford to abandon his bat. Despite a surprising lack of home runs, Devers has been one of the team’s best hitters this season.
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You can’t move Devers across the diamond at the expense of Mitch Moreland, the team leader in home runs with nine. Both are left-handed hitters so they wouldn’t make ideal platoon partners, which means Devers isn’t the choice to take over the role of the struggling Steve Pearce.
Let’s not even discuss the idea of trying Devers at second base, where he’d see even more balls hit his way and be forced to learn the nuances of turning a double play from a new perspective.
When a player can’t be trusted to field his position, the American League provides an easy way to escape this dilemma. Stick them in the designated hitter role. Great, but then what do the Red Sox do with J.D. Martinez? He’s somewhat capable and perhaps too willing to cover a corner outfield spot but the Red Sox would be wise to limit how often they let their star slugger out of his DH cage. If nothing else, making Martinez primarily a DH helps keep him healthy and fresh so that he can remain in the lineup to do what he’s paid to do – mash at the plate.
Even if Martinez isn’t the defensive liability that Devers is, relying on him every day in the field breaks up perhaps the greatest defensive outfield in franchise history. Andrew Benintendi could conceivably slide over to center while the slumping Jackie Bradley Jr. rides the pine and Martinez takes over in left but this alignment would be a steeper defensive downgrade than replacing Devers at third. It’s not as if Michael Chavis, Eduardo Nunez, or Brock Holt would be winning any Gold Gloves.