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Red Sox Urged To Make Polarizing Rafael Devers Decision
May 17, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter Rafael Devers (11) hits a walk off home run against the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox’s infield is in shambles right now,

First baseman Triston Casas is done for the season. Third baseman Alex Bregman is expected to be out for a while due to a quad injury. Trevor Story is healthy, but is also in the middle of a pretty unlucky ice-cold streak. 

Boston called up Marcelo Mayer, but there are still questions to address. With all of the injuries popping up, star slugger Rafael Devers’ role with the team unsurprisingly has been discussed. Manager Alex Cora made it clear that Devers isn’t an option to play third base now.

WEEI’s Rob Bradford sounds like he thinks the team should make the change, though. He talked about the team’s cold streak and said that moving Devers back to third base now and using the designated hitter spot to get either Rob Refsnyder or Masataka Yoshida in the lineup.

"The best version of a revamped lineup would likely be moving Rafael Devers back to third base, freeing up the designated hitter spot for a combination of Rob Refsnyder and Masa Yoshida," Bradford said. "That, for the time being, isn't going to happen, with Cora once again proclaiming that Devers would not be in mix for either first or third base.

"The giddiness that has come Mayer's presence is a positive, but it can't be viewed as the only solution to what has become a significant problem for a team that had pushed its chips to the middle of the table to start the season."

He's not wrong at all. But, with all of the drama of the season to this point, it seems like it would be unlucky. Plus, Cora said initially that Devers wasn't a third base option. Devers is one of the hottest hitters in the league right now, you also don't want to make any big change that would mess with that.


This article first appeared on Boston Red Sox on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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