The Boston Red Sox have found themselves in a tough position after Triston Casas’ season-ending knee injury. Rafael Devers has made it clear he will not play first base, and caused some tension in the process.
Devers was asked by the Red Sox’s chief baseball officer, Craig Breslow, to play first base. His response made headlines as he called out the front office. Not only did he spark headlines, but his comments were not well received by his teammates. The situation has ignited trade rumors, and while a trade is unlikely, AthlonSports’ Ryan White predicted the Red Sox would trade Devers to the New York Yankees.
“He was a part of Boston’s 2018 World Series run and remains to be an intricate piece for the team currently and moving forward,” wrote White. “However, there are teams that could be monitoring this situation with hopes to acquire the two-time Silver Slugger. One team particularly comes to mind, and that is the New York Yankees. They came into the season with third base being a concern, Devers would change that.”
The Yankees’ third base position was already weak, with utilityman Oswaldo Cabrera playing there. Now, with Cabrera hurt, the situation has gotten even worse. Devers is playing on a 10-year, $313 million deal, so not many teams are going to be able to take on his contract. The Yankees, being one of the teams that could, give themselves a chance to acquire Devers.
The Red Sox trading Devers to the Yankees would probably be their last choice. However, the Yankees may be the only team willing to take him. The Yankees would let him play third base, and could even include Paul Goldschmidt to play first base in the deal, along with a package of prospects.
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The Red Sox would likely want Ben Rice in return, and the Yankees may even entertain them, considering the type of player Devers is. Adding Goldschmidt to a deal like this would give the Red Sox a starting first baseman on an expiring contract, so that way they could compete right now without jeopardizing their plans for Casas.
Devers has not been publicly made available. However, if the Red Sox fall out of contention or he requests a trade, the phones could start ringing very quickly. If the team decides to trade him to the Yankees, then it would have to be their last choice. Devers would not be cheap as is, and the Yankees would have to really sweeten the deal if they want the Red Sox to trade him in the division.
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