{"id":30600,"date":"2025-03-05T02:46:06","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T02:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30600"},"modified":"2025-03-05T02:46:06","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T02:46:06","slug":"breaking-rafael-devers-delays-spring-training-debut-for-surprising-reason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30600","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Rafael Devers Delays Spring Training Debut for Surprising Reason!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Red Sox’s slugger isn’t ready to take the field in spring training just yet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Boston Red Sox\u00a0All-Star third baseman\u00a0Rafael Devers\u00a0has dominated news surrounding the team before even taking the field for a\u00a0spring training\u00a0game.\u00a0Devers has been defiant\u00a0about retaining his role as the Red Sox\u2019s third baseman after the team acquired former Houston Astros\u2019 third baseman\u00a0Alex Bregman in free agency.<\/p>\n

Now Boston will\u00a0have to wait a bit longer for Devers to make his spring training debut. While the ninth-year veteran was supposed to suit up for Tuesday\u2019s game, he was scratched after telling manager Alex Cora he didn\u2019t feel right during batting practice, according to a report on ESPN.<\/p>\n

Devers continues to be bothered by shoulder soreness, which he had been rehabbing since the start of spring training. He was bothered by a\u00a0lingering shoulder injury\u00a0during the 2024 season and now it appears the problem has carried over into 2025.<\/p>\n

When Devers will first take the field is unknown, although Cora told reporters his debut could be pushed to this weekend, per ESPN.<\/p>\n

Where Devers will play when he takes the field is the biggest controversy in Boston sports at the moment. While Devers is one of the Red Sox\u2019s best offensive players, boasting a 139 OPS+ and garnering MVP votes last season, he is very close to a liability in the field.<\/p>\n

Red Sox veteran Rafael Devers isn\u2019t willing to give up third base<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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In 2024, Devers committed a league-leading 12 errors at third. He\u2019s led the American League in errors seven times in his eight-year career and led the majors in errors committed on five occasions. The only season Devers didn\u2019t lead the league in errors was in his rookie year, when he played just 56 games \u2013 and still committed 14 errors.<\/p>\n

The Red Sox seemed fine with his defensive deficiencies, handing Devers an\u00a011-year, $331 million extension\u00a0prior to the 2024 season. However, it\u2019s suddenly become an issue because the team made it an issue with the Bregman acquisition.<\/p>\n

Boston signed Bregman to a\u00a0three-year, $120 million contract\u00a0this offseason. Like Devers, Bregman has spent his entire career at the hot corner. Unlike Devers, Bregman is a very good defensive player, winning the Gold Glove for his work at third last season.<\/p>\n

Devers has been adamant\u00a0about keeping his place in the infield, bristling at the suggestion of a move to DH. Bregman, on the other hand, seems fine with switching to second base, which appeared to be the plan when he signed with the Red Sox, even though it makes them a worse team overall.<\/p>\n

It remains to be seen how the third base drama plays out in Boston. But Bregman has gone out of his way to ingratiate himself to the team, forming a\u00a0bond with the Red Sox\u2019s top prospects\u00a0in an effort to build team chemistry. But a few Devers defensive miscues at third could lead to a fractured clubhouse. A situation that Cora will need to monitor as the season progresses.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Red Sox’s slugger isn’t ready to take the field in spring training just yet. Boston Red Sox\u00a0All-Star third baseman\u00a0Rafael Devers\u00a0has dominated news surrounding the team before… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING: Rafael Devers Delays Spring Training Debut for Surprising Reason! - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30600\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Rafael Devers Delays Spring Training Debut for Surprising Reason! - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Red Sox’s slugger isn’t ready to take the field in spring training just yet. 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