Rafael Devers was adamant in the offseason that he didn’t want to move to designated hitter after the Boston Red Sox acquired Alex Bregman to play third base.
But he did. And he’s failing to deliver in his new role.
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Devers struck out three times in Boston’s 4-3 loss to the Texas Rangers on Saturday. He now has 10 total strikeouts, the most by any player in MLB history through the first three games of the season.
Devers struck out three times in Boston’s season-opening win against the Rangers. He struck out four times in Boston’s 4-1 loss to Texas on Friday. Now he’s carved out a spot in MLB history that he certainly would rather have not.
Rafael Devers is having a rough start to the season. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Devers, 28, is a three-time All-Star and a senior member of the Red Sox clubhouse who’s played his entire eight-plus season MLB career in Boston. He’s spent the vast majority of that time at third base, where he’s played 951 of his 956 MLB games.
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In the offseason, the Red Sox signed Bregman as a free agent from the Houston Astros. Bregman also plays third base and is a Gold Glove winner who’s objectively better at the position than Devers. Devers is one of the worst third basemen in baseball via multiple advanced metrics, including outs above average (OAA) and fielding run value (FRV).
But Devers made clear in spring training that he had no interest in ceding third base to Bregman. Through an interpreter, Devers told reporters in February that he told Red Sox management “no” when they asked him about moving to designated hitter.
“Like I said, my position is third base,” Devers said. “Whatever it is that they want to do is what they want to do, but I feel like my position is third base.”
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After some public uncertainty about the issue from manager Alex Cora in spring training, the Red Sox made the obvious decision. Bregman is playing third base, and Devers has moved to designated hitter.
Is it fair to draw a correlation between Devers’ displeasure over his new position and his 0-for-12 start at the plate with 10 strikeouts? Maybe not?
But it certainly doesn’t look great.
