Boston Red Sox signed a third bass man who is about five times better defensively than their sitting.
But they are likely to continue to start the player who is one of the poorest at the position in Majors.
Yes, there are lots of meaningful. Mark it on your results card as “complete nonsense.”
How Red Sox management with Alex Bregman joins the team when Rafael Devers insists that he does not change positions is one of the larger stories to look at during spring training.
Boston Manager Alex Cora has to go a nice line with Devers before eventually securing a resolution.
Bregman won a gold glove for his game on the third base last season for Houston Astros. Devers led the American League third basem in error for the seventh straight season.
He led all great league third basem in errors during five of these seasons.
The position is known as the hot corner, and it has really turned out to be too hot for Devers to handle.
And it is not only the terrible number of errors but also the other balls that come by Devers for hits – games that Bregman would easily field. Bregman has led Al or bound for the AL management in Assists during each of the last three seasons.
If it is a priority to put the best team in the field, Devers must be said that his potent bat remains valued, but it is time for a better defensive player to man third base.
Bregman has made 81 errors in 995 career games as the third bass man. Devers has undertaken 141 in 955 games.
I say what the start buttons mumble under their breath but can’t say loudly: “Please, Alex Cora, Bregman put on the third base. All these gigs that are not made cause extra pitch and wear on our arms. “
You must respect how Bregman handles the situation.
He could have arrived in spring training with a large ego to match his big new contract. He could have insisted during the negotiations that he would not sign with Red Sox if he would not be the third bass man.
Instead, he acts as a real professional who owns two World Series rings.
“It’s an honor to be a raffy teammate,” Bregman told reporters. “We have just kept our heads down and came to work.
“I play anywhere. I really mean it. Wherever AC says I should play, I am ready to play. “
At the moment it looks like Bregman can start the season as Boston’s other bass man.
He has made nine career look on the second base with only two starts. He started a beginner in 2016 and another in 2018.
I do not doubt that Bregman can adjust and play the second base, but it is very unlikely that he will make the same impact there as he does as third.
Of course, baseball is full of cases where good players changed positions during their career.
Robin Yount moved from card stop to the field. Pete Rose went from the second base to the field. Alex Rodriguez shifted from card stop to third base due to Derek Jeters presence in Bronx.
More recently, Fernando Tatis Jr. from card stop to right field. Jose Altuve is currently moving from other bass on the left.
Sometimes position changes are complete nightmares. When San Diego Padres had an aging Willie McCovey at the first base, they moved up-and-comer Mike Ivie to the third base before the 1975 season. That experiment quickly ended when Ivie made 17 errors in 61 games.
Devers makes his impact with his hit. The three-o’clock All-Star has 200 homers and a .511 sluggish percentage in eight seasons. He has met more than 30 homers three times.
Red Sox can’t make a legitimate playoff -push without his offensive skill. But their hopes after the season improve if he is only on the third base part of the time.
So rotate Bregman between third and second, find Devers some games on the third and find out how to make him understand that the team is better if he does not use his glove as much as in previous seasons.
