Red Sox's Rafael Devers won't cede 3B after Alex Bregman signing - ESPN

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Red Sox's ballyhooed signing of Alex Bregman was met with considerable resistance Monday when Rafael Devers said he wouldn't cede third base.

Devers, a three-time All-Star, has played the hot corner for Boston since 2017 and himself received a major deal just two years ago.

«Third base is my position,» Devers said through an interpreter. «It's what I play. I don't know what their plans are. We had a conversation. I made it clear on what my desires were. Whatever happens from here, I don't know.»

When asked whether he would be willing to become a designated hitter, Devers said «no» without waiting for his interpreter to relay the question.

The Red Sox signed Bregman on Saturday to a three-year, $120 million contract that includes a $5 million signing bonus. A two-time All-Star, Bregman, who had played third base for the Houston Astros since 2020, has hit more than 20 home runs each of the past three seasons.

Landing Bregman, who won his first Gold Glove Award last season, was a key, the Red Sox hope, to ending a stretch in which Boston has missed the playoffs five of the past six years.

Devers signed an 11-year, $331 million contract in January 2021 and has been even more productive in recent seasons than the 30-year-old Bregman. Devers hit 28 homers and drove in 83 runs last season despite playing just 138 games because of an assortment of injuries. The year before, he had 33 homers and 100 RBIs while playing in 153 games.

That production and the financial investment by the Red Sox could give Devers some leverage in his push to stay at third.

Devers said he talked to chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and manager Alex Cora on Friday and was caught off guard by discussions about the topic.

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