The Red Sox Aren’t Getting the Best of Alex Bregman at Second Base

At long last, Alex Bregman has come off the board and is no longer a free agent. The long-time Houston Astros cornerstone is heading to the Boston Red Sox, where he easily represents the club’s biggest signing of the offseason.

The Red Sox desperately needed some help this winter, so they went out and signed Bregman, Walker Buehler, Justin Wilson and Aroldis Chapman. These signings, paired with the massive trade they pulled off to land Garrett Crochet, have rather quietly resulted in one hell of an offseason by Boston.

Offensively, it’s easy to see where Bregman’s appeal comes from to the Red Sox. Sure, his bat has ever-so-slightly declined over the past few years, but he’s still fresh off of a season in which he hit 26 home runs, drove in 75, posted a .768 OPS and 118 OPS+ through 145 games.

Adding those 26 home runs to a lineup that’s already got plenty of power to go around is going to make the Red Sox much more dangerous in the coming season.

Even at the $40 million AAV the Red Sox signed him to, you won’t find very many people who truly believe this contract isn’t going to end up being a great one for Boston. The one wrinkle in this deal is where the Red Sox plan on deploying him defensively. The two-time All-Star may be coming off of a season in which he won his first Gold Glove Award at third base, but Boston’s got something else in mind for him in 2025.

A Closer Look at the Red Sox Confusing Infield Alignment

As has been reported by multiple outlets, it sounds like the plan is for the Red Sox to play Bregman at second base on a full-time basis. This will move the career third baseman off of his primary position by trade in favor of Rafael Devers, who is widely known as one of baseball’s worst defenders at the position.

The reasoning behind this configuration is clearly with offense in mind. An infield consisting of Devers-Story-Bregman-Casas is the one that provides the most firepower on offense, regardless of how they perform on defense.

Plus, Masataka Yoshida is going to be the team’s everyday designated hitter, so moving Devers to DH would leave Yoshida and his bat without a spot to play. Perhaps this defense is what Boston rolls with until they find a trade partner for Yoshida.

Up until the signing of Bregman, there was no real internal competition for Devers at third base. The plan was to play him at his position simply because he’s a superstar and because it’s where he wants to play. Now that Bregman has been brought into the fold, there’s added pressure on Devers to up to his game defensively. Unfortunately for him, that’s no easy ask.

Rafael Devers at Third Base

For years now, Devers has been known as one of the worst defensive third basemen in the league. He’s obviously made up for that with a bat rivaled by few, but there’s no denying that the defensive play by him has been subpar.

Statcast has only been keeping track of Arm Strength since 2020, but let’s take a look back to Devers’ rookie year and see how he’s done on defense.

As you can see, it has not been pretty. Making matters even worse is the fact that dating back to 2018, Devers has the second-lowest DRS in the game, ahead of ex-third baseman Nick Castellanos by a hair.

Still, the 28-year-old is locked up through 2033 and could very well finish his career on the Red Sox. Moving him off of his preferred position so soon into their marriage is a risky move, as there’s always a major sense of pride involved in a player like Devers’ ability to play the field. He’s going to want to show that he can stick at third.

Yet, virtually every metric and eye test you can put on him shows that he’s not cut out to remain at third base for much longer.

To his credit, Devers has reportedly been changing up his offseason routine this winter. He’s been putting in extra work on his defensive chops since the first rumblings of Nolan Arenado or Bregman joining Boston began to gain steam.

Alex Bregman at Third Base

Showing the differences in arm strength between Devers and Bregman would initially tell you that the former is a better fit at third and the latter in the middle infield. Third base (and shortstop) places more of an emphasis on throwing arm than range while second base is all about range, and a suspect throwing arm can be hidden better there.

Bregman logged time at second base and shortstop early in his career, too, so he’s not a complete stranger to a non-third base position. However, he’s shown over the years that he’s got what it takes to play third on an everyday basis. Over the years, he’s been a WAR machine and a good chunk of that is due to his defensive prowess.

Unlike Devers, Bregman passes the eye test (at times with flying colors) at third. His well above-average range at the position makes him just look like a much more natural fit at the position. He’s held it down for years now and, with no real signs of regression, clearly belongs there.

If anything, it’d make sense for the Red Sox to use Bregman at second and Devers at third base to start with. However, history has shown with both players that this experiment likely won’t last long. It’s not going to be too far into the season before it becomes apparent that the team’s best defensive alignment consists of Bregman at the hot corner.

Can’t-Miss Prospect Could Change Team’s Plans

Kristian Campbell may just be 22 years old, but he’s a fast riser who could join the Red Sox in the big leagues in short order. The fourth-round selection in the 2023 MLB Draft really came into his own last year in what was just his first full season as a professional.

Campbell appeared in 115 games across three minor league levels, and he dominated at each stop. Along the way, he recorded 32 doubles with 20 home runs, 77 RBI, 24 stolen bases in 32 attempts, a combined .330 batting average and a .997 OPS. That’ll play.

Providing value in this many ways has made Campbell’s value skyrocket. Making it all the way up to Triple-A at just 22 is an impressive feat, but he’s shown that he belongs in the high-minors, and he’s going to show that he’s ready for the next step quickly.

Defensively, the Red Sox have given Campbell a look all over the diamond. He’s a second baseman by trade, but he’s logged innings at third and shortstop, as well as all three spots in the outfield. This past season, he focused on second, short and center more than anything else.

There’s certainly a version of this story where the Red Sox promote Campbell as soon as an injury to Trevor Story pops up, or if Bregman proves ready to shift over to third with Devers becoming the DH. Basically, whatever situation pops up first that requires a new infielder to come up from the minors, Campbell’s going to be at the front of the line. Story’s checkered past with injuries and durability concerns means Campbell may not have to wait long.

How About a Trade?

As referenced before, the Red Sox moving on from Yoshida would help alleviate a defensive logjam instantaneously. Having him off of the roster would promptly push Devers to DH and Bregman to third where he belongs. Campbell is the obvious choice to come up from Triple-A and take over at the keystone.

However, there’s another name on the Red Sox who’s occasionally seen his name thrown around the rumor mill: Triston Casas. The slugging first baseman is well-liked amongst Red Sox fans, and the organization seems to like him too, but he took a statistical step back last season and only made it into 63 games.

With a starting rotation that’s looking much more solid than it did pre-Buehler and pre-Crochet, it’s becoming more and more difficult to see Casas get moved. After all, he was mostly floated around the rumor mill as a means for the Red Sox to upgrade their rotation with a high-end arm. Seeing as how Casas and the Red Sox were engaged in extensions talks less than a calendar year ago, it doesn’t feel like Boston’s looking to move him.

Still, if he finds himself on the move, Yoshida can hold down the DH spot, Bregman can shift to third, and Devers can take on first base for the first time in his pro career. First base is commonly referred to as the position any poor defender can move to with ease, but that’s not always the case. Just ask Moneyball. Devers’ major lack of range makes him an awkward fit at just about any position, including first base.

Closing Thoughts

Seeing as how Bregman can opt-out after the first (and second) years of his three-year deal, the Red Sox should do everything they can to maximize his value – and keep him happy – for as long as he’s on their roster. There are multiple different avenues that could help the Red Sox shift Devers off of third and replace him with Bregman, but it remains to be seen which route they go.

All that is clear as of right now is that Bregman is the much better fit at the hot corner. Don’t forget that Devers is one of the best offensive third basemen in baseball, so he’s got astronomical value; it’s just that his glove doesn’t work at third and he’s not the best long-term fit at the position. Don’t take this as a hit piece on him, because there’s a reason Just Baseball named him the second-best overall third baseman in the league for this season.