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Trade Rumors Chat Transcript

By Steve Adams | March 14, 2025 at 12:12pm CDT

MLBTR's Steve Adams hosted a live chat today, exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers.

 

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Tyler Stephenson To Begin Season On Injured List

By Steve Adams | March 14, 2025 at 11:16am CDT

Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson has been diagnosed with a low-grade oblique strain and will open the 2025 season on the injured list, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. He underwent an MRI yesterday after experiencing discomfort in his back and side, and the imaging has revealed a strain. The team has not yet provided an expected timetable for Stephenson’s return, though it’s not uncommon for players to require around a month to recover from even Grade 1 oblique strains.

It’s a tough blow for the Reds to start the season. After a down season in 2023, Stephenson delivered a nice rebound effort in 2024, slashing .258/.338/.444 while popping a career-best 19 home runs. That marks four times in parts of five MLB seasons that the now-28-year-old former first-round pick has been comfortably above average at the plate. He’s a career .267/.343/.427 hitter, which is solid production for any position but especially for a catcher, where the majority of his peers are below-average bats with a more defensive-minded approach to the game.

With Stephenson headed to the injured list, the door will open for offseason trade acquisition Jose Trevino to begin the season as Cincinnati’s starting catcher. The Reds picked up Trevino in a trade sending reliever Fernando Cruz to the Yankees.

While the 32-year-old Trevino isn’t much of a threat at the plate — career .236/.275/.362 batting line — he’s a premium defender who won a Platinum Glove as recently as 2022. The veteran’s throwing was uncharacteristically below-average in 2024, as he thwarted just 18.6% of stolen base attempts after sitting at 25.6% and 33.3% in the two prior seasons, respectively. However, Trevino is a plus framer who draws consistently excellent marks for his ability to block pitches in the dirt. He’ll probably hit at the bottom of the Reds’ order while Stephenson is on the mend.

Stephenson and Trevino are currently the only catchers on the Reds’ 40-man roster, so they’ll have to make a move to add a backstop before the season begins. Veteran Austin Wynns, who appeared in seven games for Cincinnati last year, is in camp as a non-roster invitee and stands as the favorite to come up to the roster. Catchers Will Banfield and Michael Trautwein have been in big league camp as well. It’s also possible that the Reds will scoop up a veteran backup option who opts out of a minor league deal elsewhere or grab a catcher off waivers, should anyone hit the wire as teams set their rosters in the latter stages of camp.

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Offseason In Review: Toronto Blue Jays

By Mark Polishuk | March 14, 2025 at 9:51am CDT

The Blue Jays came up short on most (but not all) of their many pursuits of star free agents this winter, and the ship may have already sailed on the team's efforts to sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a contract extension.  Amidst all the pessimism surrounding the Jays' future, the team did make some notable moves to try and reload the roster after a disappointing 2024 campaign.

Major League Signings

  • Anthony Santander, OF: Five years, $92.5MM (includes buyout of $15MM club option for 2030; opt-out after 2027 season, but Blue Jays can void opt-out by guaranteeing 2030 option for $17.5MM salary, and adding $2.5MM to 2028 and 2029 salaries; $61.75MM of Santander's deal is deferred)
  • Jeff Hoffman, RP: Three years, $33MM
  • Max Scherzer, SP: One year, $15.5MM
  • Yimi Garcia, RP: Two years, $15MM
  • Dillon Tate, RP: One-year split contract, $1.4MM (prorated over Tate's time on the active roster)
  • Josh Walker, RP: One year split contract, $760K (prorated over Walker's time on active roster)

2025 spending: $59MM (not counting Tate/Walker)
Total spending: $156MM

Option Decisions

  • None

Trades & Claims

  • Acquired 2B Andres Gimenez and RP Nick Sandlin from Guardians for 1B Spencer Horwitz and minor league OF Nick Mitchell
  • Acquired OF Myles Straw, $3.75MM in cash considerations, and $2MM of international bonus pool money from Guardians for cash considerations or a player to be named later
  • Claimed RHP Angel Bastardo from Red Sox in Rule 5 Draft

Notable Minor League Signings

  • Ryan Yarbrough, Jacob Barnes, Christian Bethancourt, Richard Lovelady, Eric Lauer, Amir Garrett, Ali Sanchez, Michael Stefanic, Adam Kloffenstein

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

  • Horwitz, Jordan Romano, Genesis Cabrera, Brett de Geus, Luis De Los Santos, Paolo Espino, Brandon Eisert

Toronto hitters combined for only 156 home runs and a .389 slugging percentage in 2024, so a 44-homer bat like Anthony Santander should bring some much-needed thunder to the lineup.  The Blue Jays made a hefty $92.5MM investment that Santander can build on the career year that saw him hit .235/.308/.506 over 665 plate appearances for the Orioles, while handily topping his previous high of 33 homers (in 2022).

Santander's overall hitting profile is a concern, as evidenced by the low batting average and OBP.  However, Santander still posted an above-average walk rate despite the low on-base number, and his strikeout rate remained above average in 2024 even though chasing pitches has been an issue for his entire career.  The switch-hitter is certainly a power-first (if not quite a power-only) type of batter, yet the profile fits for a Jays team lacking in pop and in left-handed hitting balance.

Santander will step right into the lineup as the everyday left fielder, and he'll probably get a decent share of DH time given that his glovework is considered only passable.  As defense-focused as the Blue Jays have been over the last couple of years, they continued to move in that direction with a surprising trade for arguably the sport's best defensive second baseman.

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The Opener: Tokyo Series, Spring Breakout, Cubs

By Nick Deeds | March 14, 2025 at 8:36am CDT

As the first regular season games of the year rapidly approach, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world headed into the weekend:

1. Tokyo Series exhibitions:

The Cubs and Dodgers are already in Japan for the Tokyo Series, where they’ll face off for a two-game set next week. While that’s still several days away, there’s still baseball to be played in the meantime. At 10pm CT tonight, the Cubs will play an exhibition game against Nippon Professional Baseball’s Hanshin Tigers. The Tigers have not yet announced who they’ll send to the mound, but the Cubs have announced that veteran reliever Julian Merryweather will kick things off for them.

The Dodgers will get in on the action tomorrow, facing the Yomiuri Giants in an overnight game that begins at 3am PT tomorrow morning. No starter has been announced for that game, though manager Dave Roberts indicated that the club plans for it to be a bullpen game. Seventeen hours later, the Dodgers will take the field again against Hanshin with Blake Snell set to start an 8pm PT game tomorrow evening. After that, it’s Chicago’s turn for an early-morning game as they’ll face Yomiuri at 5am CT Sunday morning with right-hander Jameson Taillon on the mound.

2. Spring Breakout continues:

After yesterday’s game where the Red Sox made headlines when their top three prospects (Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, and Marcelo Mayer) all slugged homers off of Rays pitchers, MLB’s Spring Breakout prospect showcase is set to continue. Six games are scheduled to take place today, with another four tomorrow and three more on Sunday. Top 100 prospects Nick Kurtz, Leo De Vries, Ethan Salas, Colt Emerson, Travis Bazzana, Jac Caglianone, JJ Wetherholt, Thomas White, Bubba Chandler, Aidan Miller, Jarlin Susana, and Cam Smith are among the many young, up-and-coming talents set to be part of today’s slate of games. You can find broadcast details and full rosters for all of this weekend’s showcases here, courtesy of MLB.com.

3. Cubs on the prowl for rotation depth?

Earlier this week, the Cubs were reportedly exploring the possibility of adding to their rotation. That news came as somewhat of a surprise given that Chicago has four healthy starters locked into its rotation mix and a bevy of possible fifth starter options including Colin Rea, Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks, and the currently injured Javier Assad. Despite that depth, they’ve reportedly been discussing a big league deal with veteran right-hander Lance Lynn, who may be a particularly interesting fit for the club given that he’s drawn some interest as a reliever and expressed a willingness to pitch out of the bullpen this season as well.

The Cubs were once again connected to right-hander Dylan Cease this week, although the Padres righty seems very unlikely to move before Opening Day at this point. Will the Cubs add another name to their depth chart before their stateside opener against the Diamondbacks later this month?

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Rays Will Not Move Forward With Plans For New Ballpark

By Steve Adams | March 13, 2025 at 11:59pm CDT

As the Rays continue to deal with the lasting impact of damages to Tropicana Field during Hurricane Milton, owner Stu Sternberg announced this morning that his club will no longer be moving forward with the previous tentative plans to construct a new ballpark in St. Petersburg. The team’s statement reads as follows:

“As we all recover from impacts of the hurricanes, we are incredibly grateful for the support from our fans and the wider Tampa Bay community. … After careful deliberation, we have concluded that we cannot move forward with the new ballpark and development project at this moment. A series of events beginning in October that no one could have anticipated led to this difficult decision.

Our commitment to the vitality and success of the Rays organization is unwavering. We continue to focus on finding a ballpark solution that serves the best interests of our region, Major League Baseball and our organization. The City of St. Petersburg is currently advancing plans to restore Tropicana Field for the 2026 season. We are thankful for their efforts and are excited to return to our home field next spring.”

Major League Baseball issued the following statement in the wake of the Rays’ announcement:

“Major League Baseball remains committed to finding a permanent home for the Club in the Tampa Bay region for their fans and the local community. Commissioner Manfred understands the disappointment of the St. Petersburg community from today’s announcement, but he will continue to work with elected officials, community leaders, and Rays officials to secure the club’s future in the Tampa Bay region.”

[Related: Rays Are “Not For Sale,” St. Petersburg Mayor Says “Bridge Has Been Burned”]

Last summer, the Rays reached a tentative agreement to construct a new $1.3 billion stadium — part of a larger $6.5 billion redevelopment project in the historic Gas Plant District site near the existing Tropicana Field. The closed-roof, 30,000-seat stadium was set to open in 2028, and the development plan had been agreed upon by the Rays, Pinellas County and the City of St. Petersburg. The city council and county commission still needed to sign off on the plan, and various benchmarks needed to be hit along the way to ensure the stadium plans would remain on track.

Mother nature, of course, had other intentions. Hurricane Milton wrought immense damage on Tropicana Field, leaving the Rays without a place to play for at least the 2025 season while they evaluated the cost of repairing Tropicana Field’s shredded roof. The Yankees agreed to allow the Rays to host their home games at Tampa’s Steinbrenner Field — home of the team’s Class-A affiliate — for the upcoming 2025 campaign. That plan remains in place.

Even a short-term move to a location outside of Pinellas County rankled some on the county commission, however. The time needed to sort out logistical nightmare stemming from the hurricane damages, coupled with November election cycles that changed the composition of the boards set to approve the necessary bonds to move forward with the project, led to delays in what was already a tightly scheduled development plan for the new facility. Those delays also eventually led to a contentious back-and-forth between the Rays (Sternberg and president Matt Silverman) and Pinellas County that has played out over the offseason. Sternberg acknowledged back in November that relocation was a possible outcome in light of renewed squabbles with local government.

The abandonment of the exiting plan for the 2028 stadium and surrounding development comes against the more recent backdrop of reported pressure from not only other owners but also MLB commissioner Rob Manfred for Sternberg to sell the franchise. Evan Drellich of The Athletic wrote over the weekend that Major League Baseball hopes to keep the Rays in Florida, with a focus on either remaining in St. Petersburg or constructing a new facility in Ybor City near downtown Tampa — a location the Rays have previously explored. Orlando has also been mentioned as an alternative, per Drellich.

At this juncture, the team’s focus is clearly on returning to Tropicana Field for the 2026 campaign. That seems a short-term solution, at best, however. The Rays’ lease at their longtime home originally ran through the 2027 season, though the expiration date was pushed back one season after the Rays were rendered unable to play there in 2025.. The now-scrapped construction of their new Gas Plant District home was set to dovetail with the original expiration of their lease at Tropicana Field. Both Drellich and ESPN’s Jeff Passan have reported within the past week that there are potential buyers lining up in the event the franchise is put up for sale, but Sternberg has in the past made clear that he does not intend to sell the club.

“If it was (for sale), people would know it,” Sternberg told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times last month. “I’ve always been, and I will continue to be, pretty transparent about our intentions. And pretty — not pretty — but very honest about them. And I have been.”

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Marlins Notes: Hill, Cabrera, Morlando

By Anthony Franco | March 13, 2025 at 11:37pm CDT

Derek Hill has seemingly pulled ahead of Dane Myers for the Marlins starting center field job, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Both players have put up solid numbers this spring, and Jackson suggests they’re each likely to begin the year on the active roster.

Hill, 29, is out of options and cannot be sent down without going on waivers. The former first-round pick has bounced around the waiver wire for the past couple seasons. Miami claimed the speedster last August. Hill hit .234/.259/.402 with four homers through 114 plate appearances. He showed decent pop but struck out 39 times while drawing only two walks. Hill’s plate discipline has been an issue throughout his career. He’s a .233/.276/.353 hitter with a 30% strikeout rate in 476 big league plate appearances.

Myers has better numbers in a smaller sample. The 29-year-old has a .265/.315/.407 slash through 178 trips to the plate. That’d be difficult to sustain unless he improves upon a 30.9% strikeout rate. Myers still has an option remaining, so the Marlins could send him to Triple-A. His ability to play all three outfield positions would give him a good chance to stick as a fourth outfielder even if he loses the center field camp battle.

Hill has hit .259/.375/.481 with five walks and seven strikeouts in nine games this spring. He has connected on a pair of home runs. Myers is hitting .300/.481/.300 with seven walks and strikeouts apiece over nine contests. He doesn’t have an extra-base hit yet.

The Marlins have very little certainty in their position player group. Right fielder Jesús Sánchez and shortstop Xavier Edwards are the only two players who should have lineup spots secured even if they get out to slow starts. There’s more stability in the rotation. Sandy Alcantara, Ryan Weathers, Max Meyer, Cal Quantrill and Edward Cabrera entered camp with decent holds on starting spots.

Cabrera’s status could be in question after he left Thursday’s start with a blister on his middle finger (link via Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald). Manager Clayton McCullough downplayed the concern, though this has been a recurring issue. A blister on the same finger sent Cabrera to the injured list in the final week of the 2021 season.

Even if he’s healthy enough to start the season, the 26-year-old righty’s performance could put his rotation spot in jeopardy. Cabrera has been rocked for 10 runs on seven hits (including three homers) with four walks and two hit batters in only 3 2/3 innings this spring. Valente Bellozo, who had a 3.67 ERA but uninspiring peripherals in 13 starts last season, would probably be the next man up. Bellozo hasn’t done himself many favors in camp either, allowing 10 runs on 14 hits (four homers) through 8 1/3 frames.

In other news out of camp, 2024 first-round pick PJ Morlando will not play in the Spring Breakout prospect series. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports that Morlando underwent an ulnar nerve transposition on his left (non-throwing) elbow on Wednesday. He’ll be sidelined for 8-10 weeks and will begin the season on the minor league injured list. Morlando, a lefty-hitting outfielder, was the 16th pick out of high school last summer. A back injury limited him to one game after the draft. Baseball America ranks him eighth among Miami prospects, praising his offensive upside but writing that he’ll likely end up in the corner outfield or at first base.

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Rays Release Jake Brentz

By Anthony Franco | March 13, 2025 at 10:24pm CDT

The Rays announced this afternoon that they’ve released Jake Brentz. The lefty reliever was in camp as a non-roster invitee after signing a minor league deal in December.

Brentz struggled this spring. He pitched six times and allowed four runs (three earned) across 4 1/3 innings. The 30-year-old walked seven batters and uncorked a couple wild pitches. It was a continuation of Brentz’s massive control woes from last season. He walked a staggering 29.2% of opposing hitters in 30 innings with the Royals’ top two affiliates last year.

It’s impossible to have any kind of success with that many free passes. Brentz allowed more than 11 earned runs per nine innings. Kansas City outrighted him off their 40-man roster in June. He elected minor league free agency at the end of the season.

While Brentz has never been a good strike-thrower, the control problems have dramatically escalated within the past year-plus. That could be attributable to injury. Brentz underwent UCL surgery in June 2022 and only managed three minor league appearances late in ’23. Some pitchers struggle to rediscover their mechanics coming out of an extended rehab. The Rays were hopeful that Brentz would dial things back in this spring, but he clearly wasn’t pitching his way into the MLB bullpen.

Before the surgery, Brentz looked like a potential setup man in Kansas City. He had an impressive rookie season in 2021. Brentz worked to a 3.66 earned run average across 64 innings that year. He struck out 27.3% of batters faced while averaging 97 MPH on his heater. Even with a lofty 13.3% walk rate, he recorded 15 holds and two saves. Another club could offer him a minor league deal to give him an opportunity to try to find workable command in a Triple-A setting.

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Padres Have Received Interest From Around Nine Teams On Dylan Cease

By Anthony Franco | March 13, 2025 at 9:28pm CDT

Around nine teams have been in contact with the Padres to express interest in Dylan Cease, writes Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Heyman lists the Cubs, Mets and all five AL East teams among that group. The remaining two clubs are unknown, though The Athletic reported in January that the Twins had shown interest.

A pre-Opening Day trade still seems highly unlikely. Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune wrote earlier this week that the Padres were only willing to entertain trading their top starter if they received a significant offensive upgrade in the return package. They’d almost certainly want a controllable starting pitcher who could immediately replace Cease in the rotation as well. That’s a difficult asking price for another team to meet, especially without impactful hitters remaining in free agency to backfill the lineup.

Cease was traded midway through last year’s Spring Training. That was a different situation, as the White Sox were in full rebuild mode when they dealt him to the Padres. San Diego expects to compete for a playoff spot despite budget limitations that kept them from doing much of significance until they added Nick Pivetta on a backloaded four-year deal. Cease worked 189 1/3 innings of 3.47 ERA ball during his first season in San Diego. He struck out 29.4% of opponents and fanned 224 hitters overall — his fourth consecutive season above the 200 mark.

The Padres and Cease agreed to a $13.75MM salary for his final arbitration season. He’d be a lock for a qualifying offer when he hits free agency next winter unless the Friars deal him midseason, which would make him ineligible to receive the QO. Cease will be heading into his age-30 season and could command a contract above $200MM. While the Padres don’t seem optimistic about their chances of re-signing him, they’d obviously take a major downgrade to this year’s rotation if they trade him.

Ken Rosenthal and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reported earlier this week that the Orioles and Cubs were monitoring the rotation market. Baltimore will begin the season without Grayson Rodriguez. Chicago’s rotation hasn’t taken any huge injury hits, though they’ll be without Javier Assad for a few weeks. They’re reportedly in talks with free agent Lance Lynn, who’d be a much less costly but far lower-upside addition at the back of the rotation.

The Mets (Frankie Montas, Sean Manaea) and Yankees (Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil) have each lost multiple starters to injuries this spring. It has been particularly rough in the Bronx. Gil will likely miss the first half of the season with a lat strain. Cole will be out into the middle of 2026 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Nevertheless, respective baseball operations leaders David Stearns and Brian Cashman have indicated the New York teams are content with their internal options to weather those losses.

Boston already parted with two top prospects to add an impact starter in the Garrett Crochet deal. Toronto and Tampa Bay have rotations that arguably each run six deep. The Jays are likely to use Yariel Rodríguez in long relief. The Rays could consider trading one of their starters to settle on a five-man group. That could theoretically position Toronto or Tampa Bay to include a controllable starter in a Cease package, though there’s nothing to suggest the Padres are in anything more than due diligence mode with Opening Day two weeks off.

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Silverman: Rays Are “Not For Sale”

By Anthony Franco | March 13, 2025 at 8:10pm CDT

The Rays announced this morning that they will not proceed with the plan to construct a $1.3 billion stadium in St. Petersburg. The organization has telegraphed that decision for months. The Rays maintain that a delay in approval for public funding from the city and Pinellas County in the wake of the hurricanes has contributed to untenable cost overruns — which were to be the team’s responsibility under the initial plan.

Unsurprisingly, that decision has further strained an already tense relationship between the team and local officials. St. Petersburg mayor Ken Welch told reporters he “(has) no interest in working with this ownership group,” adding that the “bridge has been burned” (link via Colleen Wright of The Tampa Bay Times). County commissioner Chris Latvala also called for owner Stu Sternberg to sell the franchise. “I think the best way to keep baseball in Tampa Bay is for Stu Sternberg to sell the Rays,” he said (link via Sam Blum of The Athletic). “This was probably one of the best stadium deals that an owner has ever received in professional sports, and it wasn’t good enough for Stu Sternberg.”

This all comes a few days after The Athletic reported that commissioner Rob Manfred and various owners have privately urged Sternberg to sell. Team president Matt Silverman reiterated that’s not currently on the table. “The team is not for sale,” Silverman told Tom Krasniqi of 95.3 FM in Tampa Bay. Asked about the report that Sternberg was under pressure from the league, the team president acknowledged “the other owners aren’t happy with where our revenues are” but implied that proceeding with the stadium deal would have been “a mistake that (results) in us continuing to be an outlier and not being able to generate the necessary revenues to be a full-fledged member of Major League Baseball.”

That aligns with Sternberg’s previous comments. “If it was (for sale), people would know it,” the owner told The Tampa Bay Times last month. “I’ve always been, and I will continue to be, pretty transparent about our intentions. And pretty — not pretty — but very honest about them. And I have been.”

In December, the Rays said in a statement that they wanted to renegotiate with the city and county to “solve this funding gap together.” Local officials have maintained they will not approve more public funding. Welch stated this afternoon that St. Petersburg is through working with Sternberg’s ownership group. Silverman, in line with the Rays’ previous comments, said the team is interested in continuing discussions on a new deal (presumably with more public money).

“It doesn’t change our devotion to the Tampa Bay area. It doesn’t change our desire to figure something out. It just means this specific project on this specific timeline isn’t going to happen,” he told Krasniqi. He added that the Rays “will continue to look to the city and the county for those conversations and see how we can reengage and see if there’s a solution here because we were close.”

Additionally, it seems they’ll try to initiate new discussions with the City of Tampa, which is located in Hillsborough County. “I think we will because we have to look at all possibilities within our region to figure out an answer,” Silverman said. “We haven’t had any conversations with anyone on the Tampa/Hillsborough side. We can’t until after March 31 (the official expiration date of the St. Petersburg deal).”

Tampa mayor Jane Castor released a statement to The Tampa Bay Times that expressed openness to conversations:

“I am disappointed to hear that the Rays don’t intend to follow through with stadium plans in St. Petersburg. The goal always has been to keep the team in Tampa Bay. The City, Tampa Sports Authority, and County are happy to speak with the team once again, but any proposal will have to make sense for our taxpayers and community.”

With the St. Petersburg deal falling apart, there’ll be speculation from outside the organization about relocation. MLB said this afternoon that the league remains committed to the region. The Rays would need to get approval from the league to explore opportunities outside the Tampa Bay area.

The Rays will play the 2025 season at George M. Steinbrenner Field. They’re hoping to return to Tropicana Field for the 2026-28 seasons. The team’s lease at the Trop initially ran through ’27 but was pushed back a year with the team not playing there this season. St. Petersburg is responsible for repairing the damage to the Trop, which will reportedly cost around $55.7MM.

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Rafael Devers Discusses Role With Red Sox

By Darragh McDonald | March 13, 2025 at 5:20pm CDT

Ever since the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman, there’s been an unanswered question about how he’ll fit onto the roster. The club already had Rafael Devers at third base and he seemed disinterested in moving anywhere else when discussing the matter last month. Devers spoke with the media again today with a slightly different tone, as relayed by reporters including Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic and Sean McAdam of MassLive.

Devers revealed that he has shared some thoughts with chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and manager Álex Cora, but didn’t go into detail about what he said in those conversations. “We spoke already, and I’m good to do whatever they want me to do,” said Devers through translator Daveson Perez. “I’m here to help. I’ve already spoken with them about that, and they know where I stand. I’m just ready to play.”

He was also asked how he would feel if he were the designated hitter on Opening Day, with Bregman at third. “Good,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s not my decision. I don’t call the shots around here. So I feel good. I’ll go out there and do what I need to do.”

There are a few elements making the situation awkward. Bregman is clearly the better defender, for one. For his career, Devers has tallies of -62 Defensive Runs Saved and -29 Outs Above Average at the hot corner. Bregman has +27 DRS and +22 OAA. Devers also battled soreness in both shoulders last year and spent most of the winter trying to build strength in those shoulders. He has been a bit behind schedule in terms of game action. He still hasn’t appeared in any official spring contests, just live batting practice and intrasquad games.

Devers tried to downplay the issue with his shoulders today. “I really don’t know why there’s been such a big deal made about my shoulders,” Devers said. “Since the first day here at camp, I’ve been saying that my shoulders are good, and that they’re good right now. So I don’t know why it’s been put out there, the rumors of my shoulders being bad, but they’re good right now.”

Though there are on-paper reasons to put Bregman at third, Devers has understandably been less than thrilled by the changes. Last month, he said that he was promised he could be a long-term third baseman when he signed his ten-year extension in January of 2023. But it was implied by Cora that the third base promise was made by previous CBO Chaim Bloom, who was later fired and now works for the Cardinals.

It had been speculated that the Sox could move Bregman to second base, where he has some limited experience, while having Devers at third. But Bregman has only been at the hot corner during spring, so moving him to the keystone doesn’t seem to be in the short-term plans. Perhaps that suggests Devers will be a primary designated hitter this year, though no firm declarations to that effect have been publicly made by any team personnel.

If Devers is the DH on something like an everyday basis, that would mean Masataka Yoshida would have to be in the outfield mix. It’s possible that Yoshida could start the season on the IL due to his own shoulder injury, though he may have to try to crack the outfield mix whenever he’s healthy.

As of now, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu project as the regular outfielders, though Abreu will start the season on the IL as he recovers from a gastrointestinal virus. Rob Refsnyder might get more playing time in the short term, or perhaps non-roster invitee Trayce Thompson. As the season goes along, prospects Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell might factor in, though Campbell could also take the second base job if Bregman isn’t in it. Guys like David Hamilton, Romy González, Nick Sogard or Vaughn Grissom could hold the keystone for the time being.

There are still many moving pieces and the arrangement on Opening Day might be very different from the way the club lines up throughout the year, depending on health and performance. But it will be a situation worth watching, both this year and down the road. Bregman can opt out of his contract after each year, so he might not be in Boston in 2026. However, Devers’ poor defense has often led to speculation about him moving to first base or DH at some point. If the Sox decide to move him off now, they may not want to move him back next year even if Bregman is gone.

For now, Devers has made his position clear to the club’s decision makers but has also accepted that the situation is out of his control. “I just want to help the team win,” he said today. “At the end of the day, whatever position I’m playing, I always take these things as a competition and as a way to get better. That’s how I see it, I’m ready to help the team win.”

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