TBNL: Rafael Devers stays at third; Alex Bregman, Roki Sasaki markets taking shape

Boston focused on bolstering their starting rotation this offseason. Now that the task has been accomplished, the club can focus on other matters such as sorting out the infield.

Rumors have persisted for weeks that the club was looking to make a move. Triston Casas has reportedly been shopped around in trade talks. There have also been reports of discussions within the front office about moving Rafael Devers to first base if the team were to acquire another third baseman.

Red Sox GM Craig Breslow spoke with the media on Monday — to discuss the Walker Buehler signing, though naturally questions were raised about the rest of the roster and offseason — and provided some updates on the club’s plans, per quotes shared by The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham.

Notably, the club has decided to keep Devers at third base.

Breslow also said the club is no longer shopping Casas and has not met with Roki Sasaki (but hopes to).

Devers may be one of the best offensive third basemen in baseball — over the last four seasons, he’s hit to the tune of a .279/.354/.519 line while averaging 32 homers, 37 doubles, 96 RBI, and 3.8 WAR per year — but he’s also one of the poorest defenders. Devers has led the AL in errors at third base in each of the last seven seasons and Baseball Savant ranks him in the 18th percentile for fielding run value (i.e. 82% of third basemen are more valuable defensively in things like range and arm strength).

Keeping Devers at third (even if just for now) likely makes the most sense for Boston (Devers does have nine years left on the extension he signed before the 2023 season). It also means they’re almost certainly out of the mix for free agent Alex Bregman now, who they’ve been linked to in recent weeks and would help balance a very left-handed heavy lineup.

Bregman’s market becoming clearer

Speaking of Alex Bregman, he may likely be the next big free agent to come off the board. Potential landing spots for him are becoming more limited.

A return to Houston always felt like the most likely scenario, but that no longer seems to be an option after the team’s trade for Isaac Paredes and the signing of Christian Walker. Bregman reportedly turned down a six-year, $156M offer from Houston before the team pivoted to signing Walker.

At various times this offseason rumors have linked Bregman to the Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, Angels, and Blue Jays to varying degrees. The Yankees’ interest has been a common rumor given the team’s need in the infield, but he doesn’t appear to be the team’s priority right now.

The Angels were aggressive early in the offseason — trading for Jorge Soler, signing Travis d’Arnaud and Yusei Kikuchi — but have a glaring hole at third base, where Anthony Rendon can’t stay healthy (and isn’t productive or happy when he is). Bregman would be a certain fit there, but one has to think Angels owner Arte Moreno is a little shy about handing out another big contract to an infielder past 30 years of age (Bregman will be 31 in late March).

The Tigers also make a lot of sense and could very well be where Bregman ends up. The club has a young team and doesn’t have a lot of big contracts long term to plan around aside from Javy Baez; they could fit a deal for Bregman on the books (and still have the funds available to sign Tarik Skubal to an extension before he reaches free agency).

Roki Sasaki has met with at least seven teams

Members of the media spoke with Joel Wolfe on Monday. Roki Sasaki’s agent provided some updates on the pursuit of the 22-year-old NPB star who is expected to sign once the international amateur signing period opens on January 15.

Sasaki has been in the United States for the last two weeks (presumably in LA where Wasserman is headquartered; Wolfe works for the agency) but has returned to Japan for the holidays. He will further consider the interested teams and decide which cities he wants to visit after the new year.

Wolfe noted that 20 clubs submitted initial presentations via PowerPoint or video.

Wolfe and Sasaki did hold initial meetings — held only with club officials and no players, per Sasaki’s request, and meetings were limited to no longer than two hours — with seven known teams: the Dodgers, Rangers, Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Giants, and Padres.

Sasaki’s posting window closes on January 23. He can sign anywhere between the 15th and then. Within the next three weeks, we will know where he’ll pitch next season.

Sleeping in the Midwest (and West)

Somehow the Twins, Mariners, Cardinals, and Padres have yet to add a single player this offseason. No trades. No signings.

One has to assume that changes soon but it’s unclear what these teams are waiting for.