What can Red Sox do about defense of third baseman Rafael Devers?
The defense of Rafael Devers has become a real problem as the errors keep piling up. What can the Boston Red Sox do about it?
Rafael Devers remains an important fixture in the future of the Boston Red Sox but something has to be done about his defense at third base.
Devers committed his ninth error of the season in Thursday night’s loss to the Chicago White Sox, giving him the second-most in the majors and nearly doubling anyone else at his position. He’s never been steady at the hot corner but he’s on pace to shatter the career-high 24 errors that he made last year.
It wouldn’t be fair to pin this loss on Devers despite that his mistake put the tying run on base in the bottom of the ninth inning with Boston clinging to a one-run lead. Ryan Brasier still gave up a base hit to the next batter before Nicky Delmonico ended the game with a walk-off homer. That three-run blast would have been the game-winner even if Devers had successfully retired the second batter of the inning.
Would Brasier have coughed up the home run if he weren’t rattled by a two-on, one-out situation? His job would certainly be easier with two outs and only one base runner to worry about but it’s still on the pitcher to hit his spots. If Brasier doesn’t hang a slider over the middle of the plate to Delmonico then the error by Devers falls into no harm, no foul territory.
That doesn’t mean that these defensive miscues aren’t harming the Red Sox.
Devers is piling up errors at an alarming rate. He leads his position with 103 defensive chances, almost as if opposing hitters are hunting him to exploit his deficiencies. His .913 field percentage ranks next to last among major league third baseman with 100+ innings at the position.
Fielding percentage doesn’t tell the whole story when it comes to defense but some of the advanced metrics paint a concerning picture as well.
The -2 defensive runs saved that Devers has recorded this season seems merely slightly below-average yet only four qualified third basemen have been worse. He’s on pace for -9 DRS, which would be an improvement over last year’s -13 DRS but still among the league’s worst.
Devers is also near the bottom of the league at his position with -2.7 UZR. His -8.3 UZR/150 is far worse than last year’s -5.2 UZR/150 when he was among the lowest rated third basemen by the metric.
Defensive Runs Above Average (DEF) is FanGraphs’ way of measuring a player’s defensive value relative to league average. Devers ranks 22rd among the 24 qualified major league third baseman with -2.3 DEF.
Defensive metrics can sometimes be taken with a grain of salt in small sample sizes but when these negative trends are an extension of his overall career performance, it’s fair to say that this is what Devers is at this stage of his career – one of the worst defensive third basemen in the game.
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.
We have to consider that it may be premature to give up on a 22-year old’s chances of fielding his position. Errors aside, Devers does show potential in the field. He has excellent range, sporting a 3.03 RF/G that leads his position. His arm has plenty of strength to make throws to any base on the diamond. Getting to balls hit in his direction isn’t the problem, Devers just struggles more than most to make the play. He’s capable of making a strong throw but it’s not always accurate.
These are mental lapses that, while inexcusable at this level, are typically correctable. Devers has all the physical tools to be a solid third baseman if he can eliminate the mental mistakes. Youth is a contributing factor, suggesting he can grow out of these struggles with more experience.
That can only happen if the Red Sox stick with him. Young players are bound to have bumps in the road as they adjust to the majors and teams have to be patient as they work through it. The ceiling is too high for anyone to be giving up on Devers this early in his career.
Boston isn’t shipping Devers back to Triple-A Pawtucket to work on his defense. He’s played 200+ games over parts of three seasons and achieved enough success at the plate to deserve to be here. Demoting him now risks shattering his confidence and stagnating the development of a potential future star.
Next. Three Red Sox players trending up, three heading down. dark
Devers isn’t going anywhere and moving him to another position isn’t feasible with the makeup of this roster. So what can the Red Sox do about his poor defense? There isn’t much they can do. Devers needs to put in the work to improve while listening to the coaches and teammates around him for guidance. He’s certainly capable of being a major league third baseman with the proper adjustments. In the meantime, we just need to hold our breaths any time a ball comes rolling his way.