As the Boston Red Sox hope for a good season in 2025, unlike many other past seasons, issues have arisen. Triston Casas, who wasn’t performing well but still had some evident talent, is injured for the rest of the season. The Red Sox’s first response? Asking Rafael Devers if he could move to first base. You’ll never guess his answer…
Devers Questions Red Sox Front Office
Rafael Devers Says “It’s Not Happening”
Many people are aware of what Devers was in his first few seasons in Boston. He played third base, and even though he performed pretty badly over in the hot corner, Devers still didn’t want to move. Once the Red Sox signed their biggest acquisition in a long time, Alex Bregman, Devers at first refused to move from third base for the Gold Glove-winning Bregman. Eventually, he had to play DH for Boston in order to make room for Bregman.
However, now, with Triston Casas injured, the Red Sox quickly went searching for answers, including asking Devers if he would be willing to play first base. However, instead of taking one for the team, Devers simply denied the Sox. Devers stated: “Now I think they should do their jobs, essentially, and hit the market and look for another player.” This clearly shows that Devers is unwilling to move again.
The Market Isn’t That Good
Devers’ rather rude response to his team shows that he doesn’t care about the consequences of going to the market. At this point, those that are left on the market are old players who aren’t going to provide much assistance. Instead, it would make much more sense for Devers to move over to first and for the DH position to be split between certain players.
The problem remains that the best option for first base isn’t a good option at all. Anthony Rizzo may be the best option on the market, which is an issue. After an amazing 2022, Rizzo declined massively in 2023 and got even worse in 2024. Last season, Rizzo battled injuries and wound up the only player to play 92 games with 8 home runs and a .228 average. In other words, the soon-to-be 36-year-old isn’t Nelson Cruz. Cruz performed well at an old age, something that Rizzo hasn’t been able to replicate. Rizzo clearly has gotten worse with age, and in addition to this, Rizzo was injury-prone in his last seasons with the New York Yankees.
Perhaps a Trade?
Devers, at this point, is becoming a bit of a brat for the Sox. Getting him to move to first is probably not realistic, which leaves some options. First, the Sox can, of course, go to the market, but risk getting an injury-prone player. Second, the Sox can go with Romy Gonzalez, but risk getting poor production. However, lastly, the Sox could actually trade for a certain first baseman. Of course, Boston isn’t going to trade for anyone like Pete Alonso. However, there actually remains another Mets first baseman who could get the job done.
Jon Singleton has been a major power threat for the Mets’ minor league team. Even though Singleton’s average hasn’t exactly been good, Singleton’s seven home runs are attractive for the Sox. Singleton also played last year for the Houston Astros, where he was offensively productive with 13 home runs in 119 games. Singleton wouldn’t be hard to acquire and would be a good option for Boston.
However, it remains to be evident that Devers hasn’t really been helping his team. Of course, no one wants to be moved around different positions. However, many players would do so anyway for their team, something that Devers hasn’t been able to see.
Main Image: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
