It's no secret that the Boston Red Sox have been one of the worst defensive teams in baseball of late, particularly in the infield. A healthy Trevor Story back at shortstop for a full season will give them a boost in 2025, but it won't fix everything.
The Red Sox need some stability at second base, prompting speculation that All-Star third baseman Rafael Devers could be in line for a position change. Devers, who missed some time in the first half of 2024 due to various injuries and ultimately ended the season on the injured list with a shoulder injury, was largely inconsistent and sloppy with his play at the hot corner this year, as he's been in the past. Despite some visible defensive improvements, he still finished near the bottom of the league among third basemen with minus six Outs Above Average.
There's no way to know whether Devers' injuries factored heavily into his subpar defensive play this season, but considering the way his offensive numbers plummeted in the second half, it wouldn't be surprising. Regardless, the fact that the 12 defensive errors he committed over 130 games in 2024 marked a career low for him in a single season is pretty telling of his overall fielding ability at third base.
Craig Breslow, Red Sox are 'confident' in Rafael Devers' ability to play third base
At the MLB general manager meetings last week, Red Sox president of baseball operations Craig Breslow spoke on a variety of topics, including the possibility of a position change for Devers in 2025.
“We’re confident," Breslow said of Devers' defensive ability at third base, via Ian Browne of MLB.com. "I think we saw some steps forward last year. It’s impossible to know just how much he was affected by being banged up, both shoulders and his knee."
Breslow proceeded to add that "any conversation about Devers’ position is going to happen internally far before we’re ready to speak about it publicly," perhaps sending a not-so-subtle message to Devers' agent, who had told Alex Speier of The Boston Globe the previous day that Devers would, in no uncertain terms, remain at third base for the foreseeable future.
It sounds like the Red Sox are committed to keeping Devers at third base — at least for now. However, if his defensive play doesn't start showing some significant improvement soon, it will only be a matter of time before the rumors begin to crop up again.
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