Devers not open to switch: 3B ‘is my position’
FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Red Sox’s ballyhooed signing of Alex Bregman was met with considerable resistance Monday when Rafael Devers said he wouldn’t cede third base.
Devers, a three-time All-Star, has played the hot corner for Boston since 2017 and himself received a major deal just two years ago.
“Third base is my position,” Devers said through an interpreter. “It’s what I play. I don’t know what their plans are. We had a conversation. I made it clear on what my desires were. Whatever happens from here, I don’t know.”
“No. Third base is my position. It’s what I play. I don’t know what their plans are. We had a conversation. I made it clear on what my desires were. Whatever happens from here, I don’t know.”
Rafael Devers, when asked if he would change positions after Boston’s signing of Alex Bregman.
When asked whether he would be willing to become a designated hitter, Devers said “no” without waiting for his interpreter to relay the question.
The Red Sox signed Bregman on Saturday to a three-year, $120 million contract that includes a $5 million signing bonus. A two-time All-Star, Bregman, who had played third base for the Houston Astros since 2020, has hit more than 20 home runs each of the past three seasons.
Landing Bregman, who won his first Gold Glove Award last season, was a key, the Red Sox hope, to ending a stretch in which Boston has missed the playoffs five of the past six years.
Devers signed an 11-year, $331 million contract in January 2021 and has been even more productive in recent seasons than the 30-year-old Bregman. Devers hit 28 homers and drove in 83 runs last season despite playing just 138 games because of an assortment of injuries. The year before, he had 33 homers and 100 RBIs while playing in 153 games.
That production and the financial investment by the Red Sox could give Devers some leverage in his push to stay at third.
Devers said he talked to chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and manager Alex Cora on Friday and was caught off guard by discussions about the topic.
“I’m someone that believes in people’s word,” Devers said Monday. “I take it to heart. And, yeah, it was very surprising that they would suggest that. I’ve known that this is a business. I know that each side is going to do what is best for them, what is most comfortable for them. I don’t think that was the right way to do business.”
Cora noted that Devers “was very vocal last year” about how the club needed to improve.
“The decisions that are going to be made here about roster construction and about what we’re going to do in the future, we’re going to make sure we have the best team possible out there,” Cora said. “[Devers] has a lot of pride. We know that. He feels like he’s a third baseman. He’s going to work out as a third baseman, and then we’ll make decisions accordingly.
“I think here it’s not about Bregman or Devers or Cora. It’s about the Red Sox. Whatever decision we make is for the benefit of the team.”
Cora said Bregman could wind up at second or third base and Devers at third or DH.
If Kristian Campbell, ESPN’s No. 26 prospect, breaks camp with the team, he could play second base and Bregman third while Devers shifts to designated hitter. Should the Red Sox keep Campbell at Triple-A for more seasoning, Bregman would likely slot in as Boston’s full-time second baseman.
“There’s competition here,” Cora said. “I think flexibility and versatility are huge for us.”
ESPN’s Jeff Passan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Jorge Castillo
TAMPA, Fla. — The New York Yankees‘ facial hair and grooming policy, an infamous edict in place for nearly 50 years, was formally amended for the first time Friday.
In a statement, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said the organization will allow “well-groomed beards” effective immediately, changing a rule his father, George, established in 1976.
“In recent weeks I have spoken to a large number of former and current Yankees — spanning several eras — to elicit their perspectives on our longstanding facial hair and grooming policy, and I appreciate their earnest and varied feedback,” Hal Steinbrenner said in the statement. “These most recent conversations are an extension of ongoing internal dialogue that dates back several years.
“Ultimately the final decision rests with me, and after great consideration, we will be amending our expectations to allow our players and uniformed personnel to have well-groomed beards moving forward. It is the appropriate time to move beyond the familiar comfort of our former policy.”
George Steinbrenner implemented the mandate before the 1976 season, leaving players with a choice of being clean-shaven or wearing a mustache. Hal Steinbrenner kept the policy in place after becoming chairman and controlling owner of the franchise in 2008.
Players overwhelmingly obliged with the order over the next five decades, from spring training through October, often before letting themselves go during the offseason, though a few have pushed the limits.
In the 1990s, for example, star first baseman Don Mattingly was fined and benched by manager Stump Merril for refusing to trim his mullet. Four years later, Mattingly wore a goatee for part of his final season in 1995.
This year, All-Star closer Devin Williams, acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in December, reported for his spring training physical with a beard before shaving it down to a mustache for the team’s first workout the next day. On the other end, former Yankees Gleyber Torres and Clay Holmes reported to camp with their new teams sporting full beards.
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