The 2022 Major League Baseball season is young, but that hasn’t stopped one MLB writer from predicting the Most Valuable Player for all 32 teams.
Joel Reuter, a national MLB columnist at Bleacher Report, tabbed Rafael Devers as the choice for the Boston Red Sox. Here’s what he had to say:
“Still only 25 years old, Devers has already developed into one of the game’s elite offensive players, coming off a year in which he posted a 131 OPS+ with 38 home runs and 113 RBI in a 3.5-WAR season. Enrique Hernandez (4.9 WAR), Xander Bogaerts (4.9 WAR) and Nathan Eovaldi (4.5 WAR) all bested him in WAR a year ago, but he’s still capable of another step forward, even if he’s a below-average defender at the hot corner.”
The Red Sox are starting the season slow, at 3-4 following the loss to the Minnesota Twins in Friday’s home opener. But Devers has been off to a torrid start, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs in that game. He leads the team with 11 hits and seven RBIs this season and has a 12-game hitting streak — a career-high — dating back to last season.
Devers is under contract through the 2023 season but could be the long-term face of the Red Sox franchise if Boston can get an extension done.
Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom did not offer too much information about where negotiations stand with Devers in an appearance Thursday on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show,” but there still is time to get things wrapped up.
