Rafael Devers to DH, Alex Bregman Will Play 3B in 2025, Red Sox Manager Alex Cora Says

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora confirmed on Wednesday what has long been expected—Rafael Devers will serve as the team's primary designated hitter during the 2025 season and Alex Bregman will handle third base.

"(Devers) was very vocal about how he felt, and we made a decision," he told WEEI. "Alex is going to play third, and Raffy is going to DH. We all are in the winning business."

Following Boston's Opening Day win over the Texas Rangers on Thursday, Cora reiterated to reporters on Friday that Devers is "the DH of the Boston Red Sox" and will not play third base even when Bregman gets a day off.

While that setup was always the logical choice for the Red Sox—Bregman is a vastly superior defensive player to Devers—it has not been without controversy this offseason, in large part because Devers did not want to make the move.

And he was quite vocal in expressing as much.

"No. Third base is my position," he told reporters on Feb. 17 when asked about potentially being moved to designated hitter. "It's what I play. I don't know what their plans are. We had a conversation. I made it clear on what my desires were. Whatever happens from here, I don't know."

About a month (and plenty of headlines) later, however, Devers relented.

"We spoke already, and I'm good to do whatever they want me to do," he told reporters. "I'm here to help. I've already spoken with them about that and they know where I stand, but I'm just ready to play."

As Chad Jennings of The Athletic noted, Devers' defensive metrics "show negative-25 outs above average since 2020, and only 13 players have accumulated fewer defensive runs saved since 2000."

Bregman, meanwhile, is the American League's defending Gold Glove winner at third base. Had Devers not initially been unhappy with the change the entire situation would have been a non-story, given how obvious it was to have Bregman handle third base. But Devers has only known one position in his career, and changing to a role where he only bats is a big adjustment.

Thankfully for the Red Sox he's seemed to come around to it, even if he did so begrudgingly.