For Boston Red Sox fans, the nightmare that is the Rafael Devers trade just continues to get worse — and the latest twist of the knife is the news of who will be replacing him on the roster.
Gabrielle Starr of The Boston Herald reported that the Red Sox will recall 28-year-old utility man Nate Eaton from Triple-A Worcester to take Devers’ spot ahead of Monday’s series opener against the Seattle Mariners. Eaton, who will operate in a reserve role, was up for one day with the Red Sox earlier this month but did not make an appearance before being sent back to Triple-A.
Eaton, who signed with the Red Sox on a minor league contract during the offseason, has hit a very respectable .274/.357/.430 through 64 games in Worcester this season. He’s no Devers, though. No one is. And the Red Sox are an undeniably worse team today than they were yesterday, when Devers was still on their roster.
Red Sox make unconscionable roster move to replace Rafael Devers
The one player who, at least theoretically, could have come even remotely close to filling the cratering hole on the Red Sox’s roster left by Devers’ departure is Masataka Yoshida. Now that the DH spot is open, there is a clear path for the 31-year-old to get back into Boston’s lineup once he is fully recovered from shoulder surgery, though the Red Sox have been maddeningly tight-lipped about his expected return timeline.
You have to feel for Eaton, too. He has essentially been the Red Sox fanbase’s whipping boy ever since he was selected to the roster earlier this month instead of top prospect Roman Anthony. Now, Anthony has arrived, but Devers is gone — and Eaton has been at the center of it all without asking to be.
All of this points to the Red Sox’s front office leadership failing to take any sort of accountability for their lack of planning in what will undoubtedly prove to be a franchise-altering roster shakeup. Convincing Red Sox fans that help is on the way will be an incredibly tough sell for Craig Breslow and company — and at this point, even if Eaton turns out to be an offensive juggernaut, it will be nothing more than a happy accident.
