After Rafael Devers trade, here are five big roster questions facing Red Sox, Craig Breslow
BOSTON — Rafael Devers is no longer a member of the Red Sox.
That sentence, nearly a full day after news broke that Boston had dealt the slugger to San Francisco for a four-player package that includes pitchers Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison, remains as jarring as it was the second the news broke. The main story remains the messy divorce between the club and an All-Star who was made the highest-paid player in franchise history just two years ago. But both sides have to move on, so it's worth looking forward a bit.
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The Devers-less Red Sox, before seeing their old friend over the weekend at Oracle Park, have three games in Seattle, starting Monday night. Here are five questions that will be answered — and some soon — in the wake of the Devers deal:
1) Who will take DH at-bats?
The Red Sox have long been a club that has a full-time designated hitter, with stars David Ortiz and J.D. Martinez assuming the role for years before stop-gaps like Justin Turner, Masataka Yoshida and Devers in more recent years. In the interim, though, it's possible manager Alex Cora will get to mix and match at DH.
Before the Devers deal, one of the stories of the weekend was how Cora could mix in all of his position players when he only had nine lineup spots to work with. Rookies Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer each sat twice against the Yankees, who started three lefties in a row. Now, there's more at-bats to go around.
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In Seattle, before right fielder Wilyer Abreu is activated this weekend, the Red Sox might use a bench bat like Rob Refsnyder or Romy Gonzalez at DH with Abraham Toro, Mayer and Anthony all expected to start. Things will get more crowded over the weekend in San Francisco when Abreu returns but there's now an answer to the outfield logjam. Cora can start Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Abreu and Anthony all at the same time. How much the Red Sox will want to sacrifice outfield defense to potentially stall Anthony's defensive development is the big question there.
The eventual healthy return of Alex Bregman will further shake things up, and at that point, the Sox will try to ride the hot hand in deciding who stays and who goes. Bregman will return to third base, so Mayer could get DH at-bats or shift to second base if it's decided that Kristian Campbell needs some time at Triple-A. Those decisions, though, remain a few weeks away.
In a few weeks, Yoshida — who is finally feeling better after a slow buildup following labral repair surgery — will join the mix as well. The Red Sox, with Devers in tow, have said all year that they want Yoshida to be able to play the field when he returns. That might no longer be the case.
Boston is never going to replace Devers' production at DH with anyone on the current roster. But they have to find ways to fill the hole regardless.
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2) How will Alex Cora make up his lineup?
In all 73 games this year, Devers has hit second for the Red Sox. Cora will need to shake up his batting order immediately.
Duran is the obvious leadoff man against righties, but there are some options for the No. 2 spot. Could Cora entrust a rookie like Anthony or Mayer to do so? He might need to, at least in the interim. Abreu could be a factor, too, after hitting second 44 times in 2023. A lineup that was already featuring Toro and catcher Carlos Narváez in the No. 3 and No. 4 spots was thin to begin with. Now, it's at DEFCON levels.
The guess here is that Cora builds a lineup around Duran, Abreu and Bregman as his top three when Bregman returns, then mixes and matches in the cleanup spot depending on who's hitting well. Right now, though, the Red Sox are without four of their top five projected hitters with Devers gone, Triston Casas out for the season and both Bregman and Abreu hurt.
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3) How will the new pitchers factor in?
Both Hicks (48.2 innings) and Harrison (23.2 innings) have pitched for the Giants this year. Hicks was moved from the rotation to the bullpen in late May after struggling and Harrison is a starter who has pitched in both the big leagues and Triple-A. Neither will be available to the Sox immediately, though.
Hicks has been out since June 3 with right toe inflammation, which he could soon return from. Harrison is healthy but after being scratched from a Sunday Night Baseball start against the Dodgers, was optioned to Triple-A Worcester. The plans for htem are unclear at this point.
Boston's rotation just completed a great turn with Lucas Giolito, Walker Buehler, Hunter Dobbins and Brayan Bello all making good starts behind ace Garrett Crochet. Tanner Houck, who begins a rehab assignment at Worcester on Wednesday, is also close to coming back. Ultimately, the Red Sox will go with their best arms in the starting five. For now, though, Hicks might become a high-velocity arm at the back end of an injured bullpen after pitching in relief four times for San Francisco. He was a reliever (and a good one, too) with St. Louis and Toronto from 2018 to 2023 before San Francisco signed him and made him a starter last year.
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Just like with Quinn Priester last year after he was obtained in a deadline trade, it seems the Sox want Harrison's organizational onboarding to take place at Triple-A. He will serve as rotation depth this year, sure, but adding him was more about the future.
4) How will the Sox spend the money?
There's another shoe to drop — and it's not dramatic to posit that it will truly reveal whether the Red Sox are actually still committed to trying to win or not. According to MassLive's calculations, Boston just saved more than $270 million by shipping Devers to San Francisco, including more than $16 million off the competitive balance tax for the rest of this season (and $29 million in each of the next eight seasons).
After trading the highest-paid player in franchise history, the Red Sox don't have a ton in the way of big commitments down the road. Bregman, Walker Buehler, Lucas Giolito and Aroldis Chapman, who are all making good money this year, are either free agents or have options/opt-outs. The Red Sox are really only committed to big numbers for Garrett Crochet ($28 million CBT hit), Trevor Story ($23.33 million) and Yoshida ($18 million) for 2025. They have plenty of money to spend, especially after the early extensions for Kristian Campbell, Ceddanne Rafaela and Brayan Bello lowered future CBT numbers on those players.
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So how will they spend it? Breslow and Co. might not have much time to figure that out. The Devers deal opens the door for a major trade deadline addition of a controllable, high-dollar player and a high-ranking source indicated Sunday that the Red Sox, at 37-36 after a big weekend sweep of the Yankees, still wholeheartedly intend to buy at the trade deadline and shop aggressively. That, obviously, could change with a bad few weeks in the wake of the Devers move. For now, though, the club's eyes are on additions.
5) What's the long-term outlook at first base?
For now, it's Toro and Gonzalez at first base on an everyday basis. Devers wasn't moving there in the middle of the season but things change as time goes on and there was always the possibility that he'd return to the field as a first baseman at some point in the distant future.
Now, that possibility is gone. Casas' injury is so severe — and the recovery is so long — that the Red Sox shouldn't count on him being a lock to play every day in 2026. There's a real question of who projects as Boston's long-term first baseman and there's no perfect fit on the roster (or in the system). It's too early to know exactly who will be available at the deadline. But in Boston's search for a big bat, the club should look for a big-name, everyday option at first, and one with control, too.
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