It's been almost a week now since the Boston Red Sox lost first baseman Triston Casas to a serious knee injury, and we're still somehow no closer to figuring out the team's plan at the position. Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro have filled in over the last few days, but that's nothing more than a stopgap; Boston's going to need something a bit more permanent to make up for the loss of Casas and compete for an AL pennant.
The easiest something would be Rafael Devers: There's no reason to think he can't pick up the position, and moving him to the cold corner would allow Masataka Yoshida to slide in as the team's everyday DH. Craig Breslow seemed to confirm as much in the immediate aftermath of Casas' injury, telling reporters that "all options" were under consideration.
But of course, these are the 2025 Red Sox we're talking about, and nothing can ever be that simple. Manager Alex Cora quickly shot the idea down over the weekend. And then Devers refused to even answer questions about the possibility earlier this week. Now, though, it seems like the door ... might be back open? Potentially? At some point in the future? Good luck parsing this:
It's obvious to everyone, including the Red Sox, what the easiest solution to this particular problem would be. Cora, Devers and Co. have a choice to make: They can let their egos, and the awkwardness of this season so far, prevent them from getting together and working things out, or they can do what's best for the team and help Boston put its best lineup on the field every day.
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Alex Cora and Rafael Devers need to get their act together, and fast
Devers is, somewhat understandably, resentful of the fact that Boston was intent on making him a full-time DH — only to about-face and ask him to learn a new position the moment it became convenient for them. But in the words of Don Draper: That's what the money is for. The Sox are paying Raffy like the face of their franchise, and that means sometimes doing what's best even if it's not particularly fair.
Cora, for his part, isn't helping matters. He didn't cover himself in glory with the way he handled the initial Devers position change this spring, taking it public with about as much subtlety as a sledgehammer. Now that he's finally gotten Devers to settle into life as a DH, he's reticent to rock the boat again and have to have an awkward confrontation with a star player.
Again, you can understand where both men are coming from here — up to a point, at least. But all this wishywashing isn't helping anyone, least of all the Red Sox as a team. With great power comes great responsibility, and it shouldn't be that hard for Cora and Devers to just get in a room and have a conversation rather than waging a passive-aggressive battle through non-quotes to the media.