Red Sox's Craig Breslow Addresses Controversial Rafael Devers Position Change

The CBO gave his thoughts on Devers' full-time swap

Mar 12, 2022; Mesa, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs assistant general manager Craig Breslow arrives during a spring training workout at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox made the final decision earlier this week: Rafael Devers will be the designated hitter.

It had become obvious that the Red Sox were moving things in that direction before the announcement was made, but it was still big news. Devers, who is only in year two of a 10-year, $313.5 million contract, was vocal at the start of spring training that he didn't want to give up his starting third base spot.

However, the Red Sox also paid big money to Alex Bregman, and he's the defending Gold Glove winner at the hot corner. Putting Bregman at third made the most sense for Boston to put its best possible lineup on the field, but that doesn't mean it's an easy pill for Devers to swallow.

Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow was at the forefront of the decisions to sign Bregman and to move Devers to DH. And on Friday, he opened up on some of the discussions that had gone down behind the scenes.

During an appearance on MLB Now, Breslow praised Devers for eventually swallowing his pride and accepting his new assignment.

"I think Raffy deserves a ton of credit for taking the position that winning supersedes everything else," Breslow said. "If our best team has him at DH, we saw his willingness to do that."

Then, though he said he wanted some of the conversations to remain private, Breslow peeled back the curtain a bit on how the Red Sox had broken the news to Devers.

"We walked through the situation," he said. "I think AC (manager Alex Cora) deserves a ton of credit for his ability to build relationships with players, and ultimately, you want players who are incredibly competitive, who want to be on the field, who want to contribute in any way that they possibly can, but you also want guys who put the team first, and that's what we saw here."

Any concerns that Devers is considering a trade request should be calmed at this point. The Red Sox have a very good team, and Devers will surely bounce back from his 0-for-4 performance on Opening Day and become a crucial part of the winning formula.

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