Six days after eight-year veteran Boston slugger Rafael Devers sent shockwaves through the Red Sox spring training camp by flatly refusing to move off his third base position, even implying he may ask to be traded rather than take on a full-time designated hitter role, the controversy continued to reverberate through the organization. The drama may even have repercussions throughout baseball.
Specifically, the Devers imbroglio could see fourth-year first baseman Triston Casas on his way out of Boston, despite the fact that Boston chief of baseball operations Craig Breslow has called Casas a player with “40-home run potential,” and said the Red Sox are “excited” to have the 25-year-old Floridian on their team.
Devers made his blunt comments in response to questions on whether he would be willing to surrender third base to new, $120 million free agent Alex Bregman. The 30-year-old Bregman played third base almost exclusively for his original team, the Houston Astros, and won a Gold Glove at the position last year.
Casas, who has a reputation for making unfiltered remarks to the media, jumped in to the controversy by publicly backing Devers’ stance, and even going so far as to say the Red Sox trio of top prospects — Kristian Campbell, Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer — should not be called up to the major league club because “we’ve got some grown men up there.”
Earlier in the offseason, despite Breslow’s public support of Casas, the Red Sox reportedly attempted to trade him to the Seattle Mariners, according to Boston.com. That trade offer died on the vine — but could now come roaring back to life, according to Fansided Mariners reporter Tanner Vogt.
The Red Sox’ reported trade target when the deal was first attempted in December was righty starting pitcher Luis Castillo, who is entering the second year of a five-year, $108 million contract.
“As spring training progresses, the Red Sox’s internal dynamics will be closely monitored,” Vogt wrote on Friday. “The resolution of the Devers-Bregman positional dispute could have far-reaching implications, potentially influencing trade markets and roster configurations league-wide.”
But according to Vogt, the resurrected Red Sox-Mariners trade talks would likely involve not Castillo, but some of the Mariners’ younger pitching talent such as right-hander Bryce Miller who had an stellar 2024 with a 2.94 ERA in 180 1/3 innings at age 25. Bryan Woo, another 25-year-old righty who started 22 games with a 2.89 ERA last year, could also be on the table in a possible Casas deal, according to Vogt.
