Boston Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski announced Sunday that top prospect Rafael Devers has been promoted to the Major Leagues and will play third base in his debut Tuesday when the Sox take on the Mariners in Seattle.
The Sox’s offense has struggled in recent weeks, and Devers’ impressive hitting in the minor leagues — most recently at Triple-A Pawtucket — Â could provide a much-needed boost to the team’s lineup.
Third base has been a position of weakness for the Red Sox throughout the season. It’s a spot Dombrowski has talked about upgrading before the July 31 MLB non-waiver trade deadline.
While the timing of Devers’ call up suggests he could be a solution at third base, Dombrowski noted the organization just believes he’s ready for the challenge.
“We have the need. I don’t know it was really that important before the deadline,” Dombrowski told reporters after Boston’s 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “We just think that he’s ready to tackle it at this point.”
The Red Sox have been linked to a few third basemen in trade rumors of late, but the prices to acquire these players unsurprisingly have been high.
“The request for some of the guys that would be minimally better for us have been very large,” Dombrowski said. “For us, we think that he gives us as good of a chance as anybody that we’ve had a chance to acquire for third base.”
So, how will the Red Sox approach the trade deadline after calling up arguably their top prospect?
“We’re just going to continue to monitor everything at this point. I’m sure there’s going to be more deals in the industry before we get to that timeframe,” Dombrowski said.
“There’s been some big ones so far. The ones that have been made, there’s been a lot given up in return, and understandably so for some of the names. The requests are quite large at this point, but there’s still a week to the trading deadline.”
The Red Sox could still add a third baseman at the deadline, even if Devers excels this week. It’s important to have plenty of depth, especially infielders who are versatile enough to play multiple positions. Relief pitching is another area Boston could target before next Monday.
Thumbnail photo via Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports Images
