The Red Sox stand at 27-28 after their 5-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. While they have shown a lot of promise this year, they have hovered around .500 all season. Can they be a contender in the always-tough AL East this year? Will they claim a wild card spot? Management and the front office have some questions to answer before either of those things can happen.
It has been the question ever since the Red Sox acquired Alex Bregman during the offseason. Devers has said he is a third baseman, period. He is arguably the team’s best hitter, but he is also the league’s worst fielder. Devers has led AL third basemen in errors for seven straight seasons. Meanwhile, Alex Bregman won the NL Gold Glove at third last year for the Astros.
Boston would like Devers to play first base with starter Triston Casas out for the year due to injury. Before the injury, they tried to talk Devers into being the team’s designated hitter–replacing Masataka Yoshida, who is still recovering from his October shoulder surgery. While Devers has played the role of DH thus far, he has made it clear that he is unhappy. Yoshida is still several weeks away from a rehab assignment in the minors.
This whole situation got put on hold Saturday, when Alex Bregman was placed on the IL with a quad strain. The Sox called up infield prospect Marcelo Mayer in a corresponding move. Mayer is a shortstop by trade, but has played at third. So, it looks like Devers will get to fight it out with the youngster for who mans the hot corner until Bregman returns in late July.
With Devers currently (unhappily) entrenched at DH and the outfield stocked with Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Wilyer Abreu, where will Yoshida play when he returns? Boston needs a first baseman, but he has never played there before. Yoshida is a solid hitter but a poor fielder. There is not much of a trade market for good, not great, DHs these days, so everything again comes back to Devers. Yoshida will just be wasting away on the bench if either he or Devers won’t try first base.
Shortstop Trevor Story was a great hitter before injuries derailed his career. Now in his fourth season with the Red Sox, he has played in only 212 of 541 Red Sox games, slashing .230/.290/.382 with a total of 27 home runs and 111 RBI. In Colorado, that was (roughly) one season’s power totals, and his slash line was .272/.340/.523 in six years. Would the BoSox front office dare to DFA him? Could anyone be desperate enough to trade for him?
An exit by Story could lead to either Bregman or Rafaela moving to shortstop. Devers could then move back to third, or Yoshida could move to left and push Duran to center. That could make some pieces fit, but it would hurt the team’s defense. Romy Gonzalez and Mayer are also options at short.
If Devers and Yoshida are a no-go at first, and Casas won’t be back until next year, who will play there for the rest of the year? The options right now are not good. Converted middle infielder Romy Gonzalez had been playing there temporarily, but he is currently sidelined with a quad injury. That leaves utility men Abraham Toro and Nick Sogard as the prime candidates, who have a combined 33 career games there. The Sox have also tried backup catcher Connor Wong there, but he only has 15 career games at first.
None of those three options is good for a team trying to make the playoffs. So, who else could fit the bill? One option would be to bring back Justin Turner for the rest of the season. While Turner has been a great addition to the Cubs’ locker room, he hasn’t made a lot of contributions on the field. He has only seen limited action (74 at-bats) and is currently hitting only .216 with one homer and 11 RBI. Turner, 40, made solid contributions playing between Toronto and Seattle in 2024, so he could still have something left in the tank if he were to get full-time at-bats. The Cubs would likely want a reliever in return, but that might be doable.
Beyond that, Anthony Rizzo is still out there unsigned. Rizzo has 303 career home runs, and he has said that he still feels he has a lot to give the game. The Yankees let him go after last year and signed Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger in the offseason. Rizzo has dealt with back issues the last few seasons, but he is currently healthy and has more pop in his bat than any of the other options not named Devers.
Garrett Crochet has been fantastic. He has a 4-3 record with a 1.98 ERA and 78 Ks in 68 1/3 innings. Cutter Crawford hasn’t pitched this year and is probably out until mid-June with a knee problem. Lucas Giolito has only made five starts and has a 5.27 ERA. Brayan Bello has struggled with his command in his seven starts, posting a 4.08 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. Walker Buehler has been improving after a rough start. He missed four starts with a shoulder issue and was ejected once for arguing balls and strikes, but in his seven starts, he has a 4-2 record with a 3.95 ERA. Tanner Houck is 0-3 with an 8.04 ERA and is on the IL with elbow issues.
So, where will the starts come from going forward? For now, the rotation will be Crochet, Bello, Buehler, Giolito, and rookie Hunter Dobbins (2-1, 4.21 ERA in seven starts). Richard Fitts, currently scheduled to start rehab outings in Triple-A, may usurp one of those spots when he returns from his pectoral injury. In his three early-season starts, he had a 3.18 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 17 innings.
How have the Red Sox stayed around .500 with all the chaos in their clubhouse and starting rotation? –With a bullpen and an offense that has kept them in games. Aroldis Chapman’s numbers look like he is 26 again. The 37-year-old fireballer has a 1.80 ERA and is a perfect 8-for-8 in save attempts. He has struck out 27 batters in 20 innings, and opponents are slashing .167/.241/.264 against him. Brennan Bernardino (1.66 ERA), Justin Wilson (2.60 ERA), and Greg Weissert (3.13 ERA) have made a good bridge between the starters and Chapman.
The offense has been good all year, although the Bregman injury is definitely a setback. Bregman was hitting .299 with 17 doubles, 11 homers, and 35 RBI when he went down. Devers has led the way with a .291 average, 12 home runs, 48 RBI, and 40 walks. Jarren Duran, who had four hits on Sunday, seems to have his groove back after a slow start, hitting .279 with 12 doubles, six triples, four homers, 33 RBI, and 12 steals in the leadoff spot. Wilyer Abreu (.256, 12 homers, 28 RBI) has also looked good.
So, what will it take for the Sox to make the playoffs? Most likely, it will take a healthy Bregman, a happy Devers, a first baseman, and one starting pitcher to either step up or come to the team in a trade. That may be a lot to ask. More likely, Devers will end up being traded for pitching, much to the dismay of Boston’s fans. Right now, this team doesn’t look like it is going anywhere this postseason.
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