{"id":55077,"date":"2025-05-14T07:03:59","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T07:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=55077"},"modified":"2025-05-14T07:03:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T07:03:59","slug":"red-sox-world-series-champ-makes-prediction-about-rafael-devers-drama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=55077","title":{"rendered":"Red Sox World Series Champ Makes Prediction About Rafael Devers Drama"},"content":{"rendered":"<article id=\"post-2029718\"><!--?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ??--><!--?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ??-->Rafael Devers put his foot down \u2014 and hard, too \u2014 when the Boston Red Sox asked him to play first base.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a similar stance Devers initially took at the start of spring training when the Red Sox moved him off third base to be the team\u2019s full-time designated hitter. But Devers eventually came around to the DH idea.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not far-fetched to think the first base situation could play out the same for Devers and the Red Sox with the three-time All-Star taking up the corner infield position in the near future.<\/p>\n<p>NESN analyst and 2013 Red Sox World Series champion Will Middlebrooks said on the \u201cSox Talk With Will Middlebrooks\u201d podcast that he believes it\u2019s definitely a possibility.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think at this point, eventually we see him with a first base glove,\u201d Middlebrooks said. \u201cI think sometime in the next week or two, start see him work over there.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Devers didn\u2019t inspire confidence last week that he would change his viewpoint on the matter. He said he won\u2019t be as \u201cflexible\u201d this time as he was moving from third base to DH.<\/p>\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Will Middlebrooks Weighs In on Boston Red Sox's First Base Conundrum\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tcQcx64ebIo?feature=oembed\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n<p>Devers playing first base actually could hinge on the health of Masataka Yoshida. Yoshida still hasn\u2019t played this season as he continues to recover from offseason shoulder surgery. Yoshida\u2019s recovery has been set back by his inability to throw the ball from long distances without pain, but he showed in spring training that the injury isn\u2019t preventing him from hitting.<\/p>\n<p>The Red Sox theoretically could have Yoshida assume DH duties \u2014 like he did last season \u2014 and have Devers play first base. It\u2019s a plan Middlebrooks thinks the Red Sox would be \u201cmuch more aggressive\u201d with if Yoshida was at full strength, but that doesn\u2019t appear to be the case.<\/p>\n<p>Middlebrooks knows making the switch across the diamond from third base to first base is doable after he did it in his playing career. But it does come with its challenges, like learning the footwork intricacies around the bag and deciphering reads with the second baseman.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThis isn\u2019t like high school baseball where it\u2019s like just go over there and just cover the bag and make some scoops down low and you\u2019ll figure it out,\u201d Middlebrooks said. \u201cThis is the big leagues. And if he plays it, he wants to be good at it and he doesn\u2019t want to hurt the team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, the Red Sox will go with a platoon of Nick Sogard and Abraham Toro at first base. Middlebrooks believes the Red Sox will go with a combination of Sogard and Romy Gonzalez once Gonzales returns from the 10-day injured list \u2014 he\u2019s eligible to come off the IL on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>Devers certainly would provide an upgrade at the position, but Middlebrooks thinks the Red Sox can get by with their platoon for now.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf other guys are hitting, it\u2019s not going to matter. Let\u2019s be honest,\u201d Middlebrooks said. \u201cYou need a guy to catch the ball over there, you don\u2019t not a Gold Glover. You just need someone to catch the ball. Someone to make the right reads, play some bunts here and there, be a good cutoff and pick some low throws and just have some good at-bats at the bottom of the lineup.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Red Sox World Series champion made a very intriguing prediction about how the first base situation will play out for Rafael Devers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":55078,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Red Sox World Series Champ Makes Prediction About Rafael Devers Drama - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=55077\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Red Sox World Series Champ Makes Prediction About Rafael Devers Drama - 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