ATLANTA — With Marcelo Mayer playing third base and Kristian Campbell slated to make his first debut Sunday for the Red Sox, this much is clear: Barring a change as the season goes on, Boston’s decision-makers do not expect Rafael Devers to pick up a glove in 2025.
Though manager Alex Cora has publicly left the door open for Devers to eventually start getting reps at first base this summer, privately, team officials remain very pessimistic about the chances of Devers taking the field at either corner. This week, one official expressed with some certitude that the experiment would not be happening. Unlike Campbell, Devers has not taken a single rep at first base during pregame work this season. In recent weeks, he has not been seen taking grounders at third base as he was earlier in the season.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow — tasked with re-configuring his infield twice, after the significant injuries to both Triston Casas and Alex Bregman — repeated a familiar refrain about Devers on Friday at Truist Park while acknowledging that the fact he hasn’t taken reps to this point was meaningful.
“Conversations are ongoing,” Breslow said on the field at Truist Park before Friday’s game. “It’s best to keep them internal. But obviously, there’s nothing to show right now. He’s still DHing and doing a hell of a job there.
“If it were to happen, it would require a transition,“ he continued. ”I don’t know exactly what that would look like, how long (it would take) or when it would begin. But as of right now, this is where we are.”
In early May, after Casas suffered a gruesome, season-ending knee injury, Breslow asked Devers — who moved off third base to become Boston’s full-time DH this season — if he’d be willing to move to first. That request was met with resistance as Devers went public with his displeasure, necessitating a May 9 summit in Kansas City in which principal owner John Henry and Cora met with Devers to clear the air. Three weeks later, it’s apparent that meeting in the manager’s office at Kauffman Stadium did little to clear the path to Devers playing first. Campbell, the team’s starting second baseman, began learning first base on May 16.
Last weekend, when Bregman went down with a right quad strain that might sideline him for months, Cora was quick to rule out re-installing Devers at his natural position. The Red Sox called up Mayer, a natural shortstop, to take over at third, with Nick Sogard, Abraham Toro and the injured Romy Gonzalez serving as alternative options. Asked Friday if he had asked Devers about his willingness to play third base, Breslow responded: “I did not.”
“Trying to be sensitive and respectful of the conversations that went into moving him off of third base initially,” Breslow explained. “We recognize that there’s a balance here between needing to do what we need to do that’s best for the team and also, trying to provide some stability. All of these are conversations with no finality, but at this point, we’re feeling like it makes more sense to have somebody like Marcelo there.”
Initially, it was Breslow — and not Cora — who approached Devers about potentially moving to first base, which led to some questions about communication within the organization. But one industry source recently offered that the strategy was deliberate with the Red Sox purposefully having Breslow — and not Cora — approach Devers about trying first base. The idea, the source said, was that if Devers responded unfavorably to the request — as he quickly did – — the long-standing, strong relationship between player and manager wouldn’t be negatively impacted and the team could still have Cora preserve an open line of communication with the club’s highest-paid and longest-tenured member.
Since first going public with his displeasure and ripping Breslow and the Red Sox for “not staying true to their word” in a postgame media session on May 8, Devers has been tight-lipped. He — along with his camp — have declined repeated requests about where he stands now on the prospect of taking up the field again. Devers’ only media availability since the Kansas City meeting was when he hit a walk-off homer to beat the Braves on May 17. Asked about the first base situation and moving past any tension with the front office, he simply responded: “That already happened.”
“I feel very comfortable now,” he said that night. “I have my routine. I go out there every day to do my routine, to get ready. I feel very comfortable as a DH.”
Breslow said Friday that he has spent time with Devers in recent weeks in an attempt to smooth over any lingering issues. In the batter’s box, Devers has continued to produce; he’s hitting .287 with 12 homers, 50 RBIs (leading the American League), 15 doubles and a .932 OPS in 58 games.
“Raffy and I have had conversations since that time,” Breslow said. “I have made sure that it’s clear that no part of this at all was personal. This was not anything other than trying to get as many options as we could in front of us and think about what’s best for the team.
“I have also maintained that that’s my job, independent of what the reaction might be or how frustrated, disappointed or angry someone might be. If I think there’s an opportunity to help the team, I have to at least be willing to explore that. Players are entitled to respond however they want. Raffy was obviously frustrated and emotional. It’s unfortunate it got to that but since that time, we’ve had conversations.”
