There's been a lot of speculation around Rafael Devers' positional future with the Red Sox since the signing of fellow third baseman Alex Bregman. With so much talent in the infield, Alex Cora has the unenviable choice between a better defense, which would feature Bregman at third, or keeping his franchise player happy, because Devers has dismissed any rumors that he might play anywhere but third. Not only that, but Devers still has yet to make his spring training debut. He's slated to play early next week.
However, whatever the doubts are about Devers' position, there's no doubting his offensive prowess. Over the last four years, he's slashed .279/.354/.519 and has averaged 32 homers, 37 doubles and 96 RBI per year. Devers also has some of the best batted-ball statistics in the game, ranking in the 88th percentile for barrel percentage, the 95th percentile for hard-hit rate and the 96th percentile for average exit velocity. He has been one of the most consistent hitters in baseball for several years now.
For Pete’s Sake! In honor of For Pete’s Sake day, enjoy some highlights of Rafael Devers hitting home runs off of Gerrit Cole.
— Rob (@rob_thibeault) February 26, 2025
Hope y’all enjoy this great day. @tylermilliken_ @Jared_Carrabis pic.twitter.com/BxL5DOchrt
MLB.com calling Rafael Devers a "dark horse candidate" in 2025 completely ignores Red Sox slugger's accomplishments
MLB seemed to ignore this completely in a recent article, though. They ranked Devers second on their list of "dark horse" candidates, behind Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Putting Devers in the dark horse category shows an ignorance of what Devers has done in the last several years. He's also still just 28 and he'll have more protection in the lineup this year, so everything is in place for him to repeat his success from recent years, if not exceed it.
If there's one explanation for this ranking, it's Devers' defense. In spite of his terrific offensive numbers, Devers has only had one good defensive season in his career, which was 2019. Since then, he's been below league average at a position which demands good defense. As a result, he's never finished in the top 10 in MVP voting in his career.
Still, given his consistency at the plate, it's hard to say that Devers winning an MVP would be a surprise. He may not be in the same category as Bobby Witt Jr. or Aaron Judge in the AL race, but he's hardly a dark horse.