Red Sox Warned on Rafael Devers 'Ticking Time Bomb'

Last month, when asked about moving positions or DH-ing to accommodate the addition of Bregman, Devers was blunt in saying he had no intention of moving off of third base. That opened the possibility that Bregman would play second base, but he has yet to work there throughout this spring.

Devers has been injured and slowly ramping up to spring training action. That’s quieted the notion of the Red Sox having a Devers/Bregman/third base problem.

For now. But Sean McAdam, the veteran Red Sox beat man who now writes for MassLive, says that won’t last long.

Discussing the Devers situation on “The Fenway Rundown” podcast with fellow beat man Chris Cotillo, McAdam said, “I would say ticking time bomb is more applicable here. It’s quiet not because they haven’t said, ‘We made our decision, you are our DH.’ When that happens … They haven’t told him that definitively. When they do that, it will get ugly for at least a little while. Where that goes and what form that takes, we’ll have to see.

“I would caution people who say, ‘Well, seems like that’s blown over …’ No, it’s been put on hold. And it still very much could be a huge disruption.”

While Devers, who is a subpar third baseman, has limited power to change the situation barring demanding a trade, his unhappiness could be an issue for the Red Sox.

“He is largely powerless here but the organization has to find a way to get him to buy in,” McAdam said. “Telling him, ‘Sorry, know you don’t want to do this, but you’re our DH’ doesn’t completely solve it. You don’t want a $30 million player … you don’t want a guy that important unhappy. If it comes to light that they have told him, ‘You are gonna be the DH,’ they’re gonna have some fires to put out pretty quickly.”