Red Sox Predicted to Move on From Former First-Round Slugger by Deadline
The Boston Red Sox are seemingly delaying the inevitable: trading away one of their left-handed hitters. Triston Casas had his name thrown around all offseason as a potential trade candidate, but the Red Sox ultimately held on to him for the start of the season. Those trade rumors weren’t quiet for very long, and Jack McMullen, new radio voice of the Miami Marlins, expects the Red Sox to make a move relatively soon. “I think at some point, the logjam is going to be too much for the Boston Red Sox,” McMullen said on the “Just Baseball” podcast. “And they’re going to see an opportunity to either go get an elite closer or go get another starting pitcher, and I think one of Casas or Wilyer Abreu is gone.” Abreu and Casas, both 25 years old, have had opposite starts this season. The former has produced seven hits in his first 10 at-bats while the latter has just one hit in 16 at-bats. No general manager in baseball is going to make a decision to acquire a player based on a very small sample size, but it’s something to keep an eye on as the season progresses. As McMullen mentioned, the Red Sox could trade one of them for another legitimate starting pitcher. This could turn out to be true especially if Lucas Giolito or Kutter Crawford miss more time than originally expected.
However, the Red Sox could also use one of them to acquire a high-leverage reliever to pair with Aroldis Chapman. The hard-throwing lefty can still record saves, but there’s no such thing as too many elite relievers.
Red Sox’ Alex Cora rules out 2 potential causes for Rafael Devers’ slump/bat speed
BALTIMORE — Through Rafael Devers’ first four games, he ranked in just the 30th percentile among major league hitters in bat speed (70.3).
He continued to have difficulty catching up to pitches Monday in Boston’s 8-5 loss to the Orioles here at Camden Yards. He went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and two walks.
Cora ruled out two potential causes for the slump when asked after Monday’s loss if the decline in Devers’ bat speed has to do just with his mechanics being out whack or maybe something else like his shoulders. Could there still be a lingering effect?
Devers eased his way into spring training after injuries to both shoulders ended his 2024 season prematurely.
“It’s not the shoulder. It’s not the DH thing,” Cora said. “And he was very vocal about it a few days ago. And the shoulder, he’s fine. Now it’s a matter of keep working hard but getting to the point of hitting the ball out in front. That’s it. If you look from the side, it’s behind sometimes more than others.”
It is Devers’ first year as the full-time DH and he needs to find a routine. But as Cora said, “the DH thing” is not the reason for the slump — and Devers hasn’t used it as an excuse.
“I’m feel comfortable with everything I’m doing right now,” Devers said Monday through translator Carlos Villoria Benítez. “It’s not a position that I’ve done in the past. So I need to get used to it. But I feel good.
Cora saw a swing during Devers’ ninth inning plate appearance that showed the slugger might be turning a corner. He fouled off the fifth pitch, a 97.8 mph sinker, to left field before walking on the sixth pitch.
