As with any position in baseball, third base requires a compromise from clubs — should they sign a defense-forward or offense-forward player?
If a team is fortunate, it gets both, which is absent in Rafael Devers. That resulted in a flurry of internet ink about the Boston Red Sox's third base situation. The Sox are positioned to have both and a choice of which to acquire.
In typical Red Sox management speak, fans have heard both "Devers isn't going anywhere" to the possibility of being open to moving him if it improves the team. Red Sox management has historically been reluctant to discuss internal strife, injury status, contracts, trade rumors, and the current status of John Henry's yacht.
Let's look at the past to view the possible future. In 2010, the Red Sox signed Adrian Beltré, and that one-year deal got the slugger's career on track. Boston, in a regrettable move, let Beltré sign with Texas, and he piled up a few more Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers on his way to the Hall of Fame. At age 32, Beltré was considered too old for the investment from the Sox's front office.
In the 2005 offseason, Boston was looking for pitching and went to Miami to gather in righty Josh Beckett. Miami also tossed in third baseman Mike Lowell, a three-time All-Star and terrific defender coming off a disastrous season. Lowell's bat became resuscitated, and the 32-year-old anchored the hot corner for five seasons.
Now, the Red Sox are faced with a choice between Alex Bregman and Nolan Arenado. Bregman is a free agent with a substantial resume that contains all the defensive and offensive vitae to say, "sign him." That is where the problem surfaces.
Red Sox have an opportunity to lock down third base defense with Alex Bregman or Nolan Arenado
Bregman has reportedly rejected a six-year, $156 million contract offer from his previous employer, the Astros. The ever-present rumor mill has Bregman down for several offers, but there is a cheaper option: Arenado.
Arenado is in the later stages of a $260 million contract, and the Cardinals are looking to retool — a baseball euphemism for dumping payroll and collecting prospects. The luxury tax hit would be three years at $25 million per year, which is doable and less than Bregman's, but what about the prospects?
Money can be replaced, but prospects cannot. Arenado will also be 34 years old as the season begins, and the risk is apparent. Has age caught up? Arenado is the ultimate defensive anchor and even a deadlier right-hand bat than Bregman unless his skills continue to evaporate. That said, the market is still open with suitors available.
What about Devers?
Is it too late to contact the losers in the Juan Soto sweepstakes? Some fans aren't sold and never will be on Devers at third base, but moving him to first base merely shifts a defensive liability. Splitting first base and designated hitting duties between Devers and Triston Casas could be a solution, but it would be a potentially costly one, as Masataka Yoshida would potentially become another member of the Red Sox's dead money list.
What will undoubtedly happen is the Red Sox will do nothing. They have a commitment to Devers, a stash of almost ready-for-prime prospects, and a pile of money they don't have to spend. Red Sox Nation will think about that whenever a ball is hit to Devers.