Days after signing premium free-agent Alex Bregman to a nine-figure pact stuffed with opt-outs, the Boston Red Sox are still determining how they’ll deploy the two-time All-Star.
The dilemma: Bregman, who turns 31 in late March, has spent his entire major-league career as a primary third baseman, but that’s the position manned by Boston’s franchise talent Rafael Devers. Normally, you defer to a player like Devers, who’s under contract with the Red Sox through the 2033 season. However, Devers is a pronounced defensive liability at third base, whereas Bregman remains a standout fielder there. Whether Devers will remain at the hot corner for 2025 and perhaps beyond has been a theme of the Red Sox’s offseason, and through his agent Devers has expressed a preference to remain at the position. That would mean Bregman would be at second base instead of third if Devers’ apparent wishes carry the day. If, however, the Sox want to field the best team possible in the competitive American League East, then they’ll move Devers to DH, where he’s likely going to spend the back half of his career, and keep Bregman at his established position.
That brings us to Red Sox spring training, Bregman’s arrival at it, and lead executive Craig Breslow’s comments about the infield situation. Here’s what Breslow told reporters on Sunday about where Bregman will play and, by extension, where Devers will be:
“The most important thing was getting Alex into a Red Sox uniform as an elite defender.
“The conversations about where he’ll play are ongoing, and when the time is right, we’ll make that determination.”
In other words, the situation is still fluid. For Bregman’s part, he’s open to whatever is deemed best:
It’s pretty clear what should happen, at least in an ideal scenario. Bregman has spent exactly 32 of his more than 9,500 career defensive innings at second base. Going back further, he was a shortstop in college at LSU and then never appeared at second base in the minors. Second, it should be noted, is a very different position than third, given the range requirements and pivot duties. It’s not to be assumed that just because Bregman is a very good third baseman he’ll be able to be an asset at second base after never playing the position at a high level and now that he’s in his thirties. Potentially, moving Bregman to second means defensive liabilities at two infield positions in front of a rotation that figures to be one of the most ground-ball-inclined in all of MLB.
The wisest path for manager Alex Cora is to install Bregman at third, let Devers cook with the bat at DH, and put premium prospect Kristian Campbell at second base. Speaking of Campbell, our R.J. Anderson recently ranked him as the No. 3 prospect in all of baseball. Here’s part of his write-up:
Campbell has greatly boosted his stock since being drafted in the fourth round during summer 2023. He trained his bat speed over the winter, empowering him to launch 20 home runs last year after smoking only four during his single season at Georgia Tech. Campbell’s added muscle gives him a well-rounded game: he has a good feel for contact and the zone alike; he’s an above-average runner; and the Red Sox continue to play him at shortstop, albeit while giving him looks elsewhere on the diamond, too. Campbell already has the appearance of being a draft-day steal. Expect him to continue to enhance that perception in 2025, likely while spending a lot of time in the majors.
Campbell, a 22-year-old Georgia Tech product, thrived at three levels last season, including across a combined 75 games at Double- and Triple-A. He may be a future shortstop, but he’s spent a plurality of his defensive innings in the minors at second base. Provided Campbell passes muster in the Grapefruit League, he has a real shot at being added to the 40-player roster and heading north with the big-league team. Speaking of which, here’s this recent report from MassLive:
“The presumption throughout the week is that Bregman, a third baseman throughout his career in Houston, would move to second base with Rafael Devers entrenched at the hot corner. That, however, is no sure thing. According to a source, the uncertainty is real — and mainly a byproduct of the team’s enthusiasm for top prospect Kristian Campbell and an organizational willingness, at this early stage of camp, to give him a pathway to making the Opening Day roster.”
Presumably, this would mean Campbell would be in line for at least semi-regular duty at second base, while Bregman would remain at third. Devers would make the leap to DH, which would mean a lesser role – or perhaps no role at all – for incumbent DH Masataka Yoshida. Those are notable ripples, but they’re probably necessary for the Red Sox to put the best possible team on the field.
All of that leads us to a pair of spring questions that may inform the Sox’s efforts to end their three-year playoff drought in 2025:
- Will Campbell do enough in camp to earn a role?
- Is Sox leadership willing to have an uncomfortable conversation with Devers about what’s best for his long-term career and best for the team?
Boston’s infield situation is muddled, yes, but what they need to do in order to better their chances in the coming season is actually pretty clear.
