Red Sox Manager Alex Cora Takes Firm Stance On Rafael Devers 1st Base Question

"No" doesn't leave a lot of room for ambiguity...

Aug 6, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Boston Red Sox third base Rafael Devers (11) throws to first base during the eighth inning Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

Spring training brought us the Rafael Devers third base debate. It appears that only two months later, we'll now be embroiled in the Rafael Devers first base debate.

The Boston Red Sox signed Gold Glove thirdr baseman Alex Bregman in February, causing them to move Devers off his preferred position. He's now the full-time designated hitter, a role he seems to be warming up to after it obviously bothered him at first.

However, now that first baseman Triston Casas is out for the season, there's been plenty of speculation that Devers could make the transition to first base. His manager, though, is shutting it down at every possible opportunity.

After Red Sox skipper Alex Cora initially balked at the thought of Devers playing first base over the weekend, he was asked anew on Tuesday. And Cora made it very clear that it wasn't anywhere near his agenda at the moment.

Here was the full exchange between MassLive's Chris Cotillo and Cora, provided by NESN's Tom Caron on X (formerly Twitter):

Cotillo: “We talked about the Raffy first base thing the other day. Have you had any conversations with him about it?”

Cora: “No.”

Cotillo: “Do you plan to?”

Cora: “No.”

There's not a lot of wiggle room there. Romy González and Triple-A call-up Abraham Toro, who was scheduled to be the starter in Tuesday night's game against the Texas Rangers, will have a chance to split time at the position for now, even if those outside the organization think there's a better option.

"Around the world, a lot of people,“ Cora quipped when asked if there had been volunteers to play the position, per Cotillo. ”Getting texts and messages and all that.

“We’re staying the course. We’ve got these two guys here. Toro is starting today. Romy has done an amazing job in his starts over there. We’ll keep going that way.”

Staying the course is fine if the course is working. But things are going to get loud if this team with playoff aspirations has a pair of players who look like bench guys out there splitting time at an offense-first position.

Right now, it's opportunity time for Toro and González. But it still seems like Devers could change the whole picture if he asked to get back on the diamond.

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