The main story Boston Red Sox fans were forced to follow involved two of the team's best players, Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman. When Bregman signed a three-year deal to join Boston, initial expectations were that he'd play second base, keeping Devers at the hot corner. Alex Cora quickly revealed that his plans were different and that he wanted to use Bregman at third with Devers at the DH spot.
This decision made sense for a couple of reasons. First, by doing this, the Red Sox left second base open for Kristian Campbell, one of the top prospects in the majors. Campbell has already made Cora's decision to pay off by hitting his first career home run in his third game. Second, this decision would help improve Boston's team defense. Bregman is a Gold Glove winner at third base while Devers is arguably the worst in the league at that position.
Despite this decision being better for the team, Devers made it clear that he was unwilling to move off of third base. Eventually, Devers did give into Cora's demands, giving Red Sox fans the impression that the drama was over, but his slow start to the season has picked that drama up again.
We're not just talking about a slow start, Devers has had one of the worst starts in MLB history. The third baseman has gone 0-for-12 with 10 strikeouts in three games. His 10 strikeouts in three games are the most in MLB history. It has been brutal to watch. Devers' struggles have Red Sox fans contemplating whether Cora should consider benching him for the team's fourth game of the season. If we're being honest, it's something Cora probably should strongly consider.
Devers has to sit tomorrow. There are 12 other hitters on the team who got their swings in down in Fort Myers and are ready to play regular season baseball. Devers lack of professionalism is hurting the team. Play somebody who gave a shit this spring. See you Monday in Baltimore.
— Matt McCarthy (@MattMcCarthy985) March 30, 2025
Alex Cora must strongly consider giving Rafael Devers an early day off
An off-day just four games into the season for a three-time All-Star feels a bit much, but it's something Cora might end up doing. I mean, Devers looks completely lost out there.
It would've been one thing for Devers to have gone hitless in his first 12 at-bats. Francisco Lindor, a player who was just the NL MVP runner-up has gone 0-for-11 through three games as an example. The difference, though, is that Lindor has only struck out three times in those at-bats and has hit into a couple of hard outs. Devers, on the other hand, has struck out in 83 percent of his at-bats thus far.
This doesn't feel like Devers, the bonafide star, at the plate right now, and it's hard to know why. Is this a mental thing with Devers knowing that Bregman has taken over as the team's third baseman? Is his shoulder not feeling 100 percent? Is he struggling this much due to a lack of spring training? I have no idea what is bothering Devers, but giving him a day off could help with any of these issues.
Sitting him in Sunday's game does make a lot of sense at this point. Devers has had enough trouble, and the Texas Rangers have Jacob deGrom, perhaps the best pitcher on the planet when healthy, on the bump. How likely is it that this version of Devers does much against a pitcher of deGrom's caliber? Another 0-for-4 day with several strikeouts will only lower his confidence even further.
Giving Devers a mental break now might get him going in time for what could end up being a key three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles set to begin on Monday.