Throughout the offseason the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last week we discussed Shohei Ohtani's future. This week we're doing to do the same with Rafael Devers.
On which team will Devers start 2023, finish 2023, and start 2024?
R.J. Anderson: I assume Devers will start the year in Boston. Things get tricky after that. I don't know that you can reasonably project the Red Sox to be a playoff team right now, but they showed last season that they're willing to chase a lost cause to the bitter end. Would they really repeat the mistakes they made with Xander Bogaerts? Maybe, maybe not. I think you have to envision Devers wearing a different jersey in 2024 until Boston ponies up. Maybe he ends up being the (very good) consolation prize on the Shohei Ohtani bidding between the Mets and the Dodgers? Or maybe the Cubs, Giants, or some other team steps up? It's hard to say for sure, but I'd take the field over the Red Sox for where he's playing 2024.
Dayn Perry: I'm going to answer Boston for all three questions. I think Red Sox ownership has been so derelict and useless over the last handful of seasons that they'll be shamed into keeping Devers. The public backlash over ownership's lack of interest in winning and the front office's general incompetence has been strong enough to foment just a bit of change.
Mike Axisa: I think Devers will spend all of next season with the Red Sox and then open 2024 with the Giants, and I thought that before Carlos Correa bolted for the Mets. The Giants obviously crave a superstar and adding a second prime-aged star to Correa next offseason felt like a pretty good bet, particularly with Red Sox ownership being -- as Dayn put it -- derelict and useless. Devers leaving Boston as a free agent isn't all that difficult to imagine. Now that Correa has walked away, the Giants desperately need a face of the franchise and a someone to flip the vibes. They'll have to wait a year, but I think they come in with a free agent offer next offseason that ensures Devers signs with them.
Matt Snyder: I'll go with starting the season with the Red Sox, finishing the season with the Cubs and starting 2024 with the Cubs.
My thought process is that the Red Sox are reportedly "galaxies" away from retaining the services of Devers in an extension and it seems possible at this point he's just ready to move on after seeing what happened with Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts (and several others, to a lesser extent). I'm going to assume the Red Sox are not contenders in July of this season and that the Cubs are fighting for second place -- barely above .500 or even just at .500 -- with the Brewers behind the Cardinals in a lackluster NL Central. Devers' prime fits with the Cubs' window and a middle-order lefty who plays third base is a perfect fit. They should have the prospect package by then to pull off a deal for Devers. All that's left is being aggressive enough with an extension offer to get a deal done before free agency, as they don't have much money tied up in future contracts other than Dansby Swanson and Seiya Suzuki.
