After a phenomenal start to the 2025 season, new Boston Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman will miss a significant amount of time due to a right quad strain. Bregman had been the engine of the Red Sox offense, posting an impressive .299/.385/.553 slash line and 161 OPS+. If not for Aaron Judge, he likely would have been one of the favorites for AL MVP.

Bregman’s absence begs the question: Do the Red Sox ask Rafael Devers, the man he replaced at third base, to return to his old position?

Devers’ defensive position (or lack thereof) has been the subject of near-constant drama since the start of spring training. The acquisition of Bregman left Devers’ place in the field up in the air, as Bregman is clearly the better defender. That being said, Devers has been the cornerstone of the franchise ever since his mammoth extension. He routinely expressed an unwillingness to switch positions to accommodate Bregman, although the Red Sox ultimately decided to move him to DH full time. This change allowed second base to be available for prospect Kristian Campbell.

After reluctantly switching to DH, which was undoubtedly the right move for the team, Devers was recently faced with the prospect of another another position change after the injury to Triston Casas. A torn patellar tendon will keep the Red Sox’ first baseman out for the rest of 2025, leaving a hole at that position but opening up an opportunity for Devers to return to playing defense, albeit at a different position. However, Devers was equally unwilling to play first, and has remained at DH.

Rafael Devers returning to third base for Red Sox is unlikely

The injury to Bregman does introduce the possibility of Devers returning to third. However, there’s a variety of reasons why this is a bad idea for the Red Sox. First and foremost, he’s a liability on defense. That and the fact that he hasn’t played any defense all season make it a poor move for the Sox to reintroduce him to the hot corner.

Secondly, this would be the third time the Red Sox had asked Devers to make a position change, and each of the previous two, he’s been reluctant. He never wanted to move to DH full time and was forced into that role by the club. As for first base, he hasn’t ben willing to fill that hole. If the Red Sox ask him to switch again, they risk alienating their best player even further.