The Red Sox are sinking fast this season, and with each passing series, the playoffs slip further out of sight. But down in Worcester, a rising star is lighting up the farm, Roman Anthony, the phenom who might just be the spark Boston desperately needs. So why hasn’t he been called up yet? The answer might trace back to a messy position drama involving none other than Rafael Devers.
Anthony has been making waves from Triple-A Worcester, making it hard to turn back on him. As the Red Sox are struggling to find a footing, with a 30-34 record, 4th in the AL East, they could just call him up and flip their playbook. But Boston seems to have no sense of urgency, and it is inviting a fair bit of criticism now.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reckons it’s all because of the mishandling of the Devers situation. “I think the original sin was the miscommunication with Rafael Devers,” he said on Underdog MLB with Jared Carrabis. “Where do you find room for Roman Anthony? I mean, do you move Rafaela off of center and then put a lesser outfielder in center field, thus hurting yourself defensively in the process?”
Passan continued, “Moving Rafaela to second base, moving him to shortstop? I mean, there are ways to do it. But all of this goes back to if everything had been done correctly with Devers the first time, the Red Sox would have an out, and now they don’t.”
Well, he is spot on, isn’t he? It’s Devers’ refusal to move to the first base that makes Boston’s options thinner. The Red Sox could have handled this much better if they had had a better strategy in the offseason.
“I don’t think Roman Anthony isn’t there because he isn’t ready. I think everybody who has seen him acknowledges that he is ready,” Passan further remarked.
Devers had mentioned his desire to play at third base. But when Alex Bregman entered the chat, they moved him to the DH role without a proper approach. And when Triston Casas was sidelined, the Red Sox wanted Devers to shift to first base. Even owner John Henry flew to Kansas City to meet him, but after the way things were handled, Devers stood his ground.
Probably rightfully, as that was not what they agreed on. They could have easily convinced him to be at first base, but they blew that chance off, and now they have no place for their crown jewel, Anthony.
Anthony is definitely ready for the majors. He is hitting .296 with 9 home runs and 24 RBIs in the minor league. Through his first 55 games this season, he has 3 stolen bases, 60 hits, 9 doubles, 2 triples, and a 53-46 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He’s proven all he’s needed to prove in Triple-A, but as long as the Red Sox figure out this position problem, they can’t leverage his brilliance.
Even though some are criticizing Devers for his adamance, he has a large support on and off the field. It is not on Devers, the blame is on the Red Sox.
Support grows for Devers in position drama
Red Sox don’t have any excuses for the current limbo they are in; it is largely self-inflicted. Being a third baseman is core to Devers’ identity—something he’s made clear he has no intention of giving up. So, he can’t be blamed for this pickle.
The Yankees star Jazz Chisholm Jr. could relate to his situation, even though there was no promise involved with him. He was supposed to play at second base for the Yankees, as he did in Miami, but he was moved to third base by the team.
Chisholm defended Devers’ choice while talking to The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner. “He (Devers) was promised that position. That was promised to him. I believe if you’re promised your position, you should go play the position you were promised. That’s what he worked on his whole career. You can’t go back on it. I don’t have a problem with what he did,” he said.
Not only Chisholm, but the Red Sox legend David Ortiz, the Big Papi himself, also came to Devers’ defense. In a recent interview, Ortiz shared his honest opinion. “He was a third baseman who was asked to be a DH. Now, all of a sudden, you want him to play first base. I guess you had to give him some time for him to learn if he wanted to because he’s doing great as a DH… We cannot just crush the guy every time we feel like.”
Devers is adjusting to his new role as DH, and he has greatly improved at it. But unfortunately, this position drama seems to have no end. If the Red Sox want to flip the script for this season, they should find a solution, as soon as possible.
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