Nearly a month after Triston Casas' season-ending injury, the Boston Red Sox are still searching for a solution for their first base vacancy. Abraham Toro, Nick Sogard and Romy González have been fine in the short term, but if the Red Sox hope to make the playoffs, they need to find a regular first baseman to contribute on both sides of the ball.
Rafael Devers has been floated as an option by reporters and analysts around MLB, but the third baseman-turned-designated hitter firmly refused another position change. There could be multiple reasons for that, but some Red Sox fans and baseball personalities haven't taken his refusal to change positions well.
Red Sox legend David Ortiz is not one of them. Boston's last great designated hitter spoke with Red Sox reporters at his golf fundraiser on June 2 about the many position change requests the front office has made of Devers.
"He had a rough start the first couple of weeks, but then he's killing right now. You don't wanna mess that up," Ortiz said. "...He was a third baseman that was asked to be a DH, now all of a sudden you want him to play first base. You have to give him some time for him to learn, if he wants to, because h's doing great at DH."
Red Sox legend David Ortiz says Boston should keep Rafael Devers as the DH, despite desperation at first base
It would have been nice if Devers volunteered to take over at first base, or even at third base after Alex Bregman's injury. Had he done so, the Red Sox could've added Masataka Yoshida back to the lineup as the DH or called up Roman Anthony, both solutions to their unreliable offense. But Devers has no first base experience and he isn't a skilled defender — he was always going to become a full-time DH in the later years of his contract, and moving him to first base further delays the inevitable.
Ortiz's point that he wouldn't mess with Devers as the DH makes sense, despite the Red Sox's desperation for corner infielders. They're equally, if not more, desperate for consistent offense, and Devers has been one of the best hitters in MLB since his 0-for-19 start to the season. He's slashing .286/.408/.515 with a .923 OPS, 58 RBI and 48 walks. His record-breaking start to the season could've been caused by his first position change, and asking him to change positions again could be a recipe for an offensive disaster, especially without Bregman in the lineup.
With Romy González off the injured list and back in Boston's lineup as of June 2, its desperation for a first baseman has lessened. Hopefully, this will allow Kristian Campbell to focus on breaking out of his offensive slump — not moving to first base — and let Devers keep raking out of the DH slot, as Ortiz knew he would.