McAdam: Devers vs. Nunez is the last unsettled position player battle

CLEVELAND -- As the Red Sox get closer to the post-season, the list of unresolved issues facing them seems to shrink.

It's clear that the team will carry all three catchers -- Sandy Leon, Christian Vazquez and Blake Swihart -- on its Division Series roster, even if they're unsure, for now, about which catcher will pair with each starting pitcher.

Most of the bullpen picks have been made, too, although the team hasn't said anything publicly.

And it's obvious that both Eduardo Nunez and Rafael Devers will be part of the 25-man roster. What's not clear, however, is how the Red Sox will divide up the playing time between them at third base. And it may remain that way until the Sox learn the identity of their ALDS opponent, which won't be known until late on Oct. 3 after the Yankees and (almost certainly) the Oakland A's do battle in the A.L. wild card game.

Until recently, it was widely assumed that Nunez had claimed the position for his own while Devers worked his way back from a second hamstring pull that sent him to the DL. Even as Devers got cleared to play, the Red Sox seemed in no hurry to bring him back from his rehab assignment and, rather pointedly, waited until rosters expanded to recall him to Boston.

The injury to Devers coincided with Nunez finally feeling recovered from last year's knee injury. Though he passed what the Red Sox termed a rigorous physical test in February before the Sox re-signed him, it was clear as the year progressed that he was far from 100 percent.

Late in August, Nunez began to demonstrate that he was again healthy, exhibiting better balance at the plate with a stronger lower-half. His improvement could be seen at the plate as he hammered line drives and looked more like the hitter he was when the Sox first obtained him, just shy of the non-waiver deadline.

Ill-suited for second, Nunez was more comfortable at third, and while his range is limited at the position, he represented a sure-handed defensive option there, especially when compared to Devers, who leads the Sox with 23 errors.

The combination of reliability and more competitive at-bats on the part of Nunez seemed to guarantee that the Sox would rely on Nunez at the position in October.

But the picture has been scrambled in the last week and a half.  With Nunez resting with a tender hamstring, Devers has gotten an opportunity at third and, in the last seven games going into the road trip finale, had blasted three homers.

The Sox see a more disciplined Devers at the plate, less prone to chasing pitches out of the strike zone. And on a team which has seen its power game dip appreciably in recent weeks, his ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark is especially tantalizing, given the pop he could provide for the lower third of the batting order and the increased value of home runs in the post-season.

But going with Devers would, of course, come at a cost: his high error total -- many of them the result of errant throws -- produces a feeling of some anxiety on even the most routine of balls hit to him. If homers have extra appeal in the playoffs, then errors and giving extra outs to a quality opponent could more than cancel out that benefit.

Nunez is not without his own risks at third, for while he's surehanded on balls hit at him -- the costly two-run error in New York last week notwithstanding -- he provides next-to-no range.

The choice, then: Devers and his power and better lateral range in the field off-set by his propensity for errors? Or Nunez and his more consistent contact, dependability but nearly stationary play at third?

"We'll have to wait and see who we play,'' said Cora when asked how he envisioned third base in the playoffs. "Obviously, with Oakland, it's kind of a bullpen game the whole time. And with the Yankees, you have (lefties J.A) Happ and you've got (CC) Sabathia. We'll see, I'm happy with the way Raffy's swinging the bat. And it's not the results; it's the approach.

"We've got to see when Eddie comes back and he's healthy and able to move around. That's going to be important for us. But I'm not looking way ahead. I know they're playing well, but at the same time, we don't know who we're going to play.''

The position has been a volatile one for the Red Sox in recent years, in part because of the disastrous Pablo Sandoval contract and fallout. So it's somehow appropriate that, in a year in which virtually everything has gone right for the team, it remains unsettled with a week remaining in the season.