Vladimir Guerrero Jr. doesn’t want to be a Blue Jay anymore.
There's a chance Rafael Devers might not want to be a Red Sox, either.
The rumors connecting the Red Sox to one of baseball’s top sluggers are nothing new, but they’ve certainly taken an interesting turn as the 25-year-old first baseman has officially put himself on the free-agent market.
Guerrero’s spring training deadline to make a deal with Toronto has come and gone, opening the door (Pandora’s box, really…) for every team to dream about the son of a Hall of Famer — and likely future Hall of Famer in his own right — wearing their uniform.
Why not Boston?
We know that Guerrero has already shown some interest from afar in being a Red Sox. As I’ve written a time or two before, the idea of hitting him 3-4 in a lineup with Devers would be about as good as it gets…
But what if there’s no Devers in the equation?
Devers’ recent comments about not wanting to cede third base to newcomer Alex Bregman have opened the door to plenty of questions, including whether or not Devers will still want to finish his career here.
Now, Devers hasn’t come out and explicitly said he wants out. I don’t believe at this second that he does. But the groundwork for his departure is certainly there and is continuing to be laid down. He already publicly called out the team for their lack of spending last year. This latest unrest could very well be more kindling on the slow-burning fire of his eventual exit…
So, that begs the question… instead of dreaming about Devers and Guerrero together, what about the notion of trading Devers for Guerrero?
From a baseball standpoint, it would be as close to a perfect, win-win trade for all involved. The Red Sox would replace their maybe disgruntled 28-year-old, $313 million superstar with another superstar who is three years younger — oh, and he isn’t owed $300 million (yet).
From the Jays’ perspective, it would probably be as good as it gets. Toronto stands to lose one of the best players in the game for nothing, so they will almost certainly be motivated to move him unless they’re confident they’ll be able to blow him out of the water with a better offer come next offseason. That feels unlikely.
Getting a player like Devers in return, who is already locked up for the long term, would be a great way to recoup value — and nearly all of it, at that. Guerrero and Devers are similar hitters, but I’m giving the edge to Guerrero if given the choice.
Now, there are a few drawbacks, too. There’s that whole “you have to pay him” part of the equation. Trading Devers for one year of Guerrero wouldn’t make any sense (and would be pretty stupid — not trading Mookie levels stupid, but in the ballpark), and you’d better believe Guerrero will command way more than the $313 million that the Sox paid Devers.
There’s also the dilemma of where to play him. Guerrero is a first baseman, and a Gold Glove one at that. Boston, of course, has a first baseman in Triston Casas. Sure, Devers going out the door would allow Bregman to slide into to his most natural spot at third.
If Guerrero is willing to be the designated hitter, then the problem is solved. But again, he’s a recent Gold Glove winner at first base. There’s a good chance he may not want to, and the numbers actually back that up…
As a DH, Guerrero is a lifetime .258 hitter across 171 games. In 533 games at first, he’s hit .296, and in 110 games at third, he’s batting .300. It seems playing the field keeps Vladdy Jr. more engaged at the plate, which isn’t entirely uncommon.
Nevertheless, just as Bregman is willing to play second for the good of the team, I’m sure something could be worked out… with the biggest selling point to Vladdy being that he isn’t in Canada anymore.
There may still be a way to make it work that the Sox could add Guerrero to Devers, instead of either or. I would definitely be in favor of that option. But it can’t be ruled out that the Sox are looking at this Devers-Bregman drama and wondering if a long-term marriage with Devers still makes the most sense.
As an aside to Devers in all this, as I’ve yet to touch on the personal accountability he shares in all of this… dude, what are you doing?
Devers could have easily said “I would prefer to play third” and left it at that. Instead, he chose the defiant route. The only person that benefits from that route is Devers himself — certainly not Bregman, and definitely not the team.
To be chiding ownership one offseason for not bringing in enough talent, then complaining because you might have to change positions the next comes across as selfish at best, and unserious about winning at the worst.
It’s a bad look, Raffy. Add on top of that the fact that he’s shown no interest in being a clubhouse leader, at least in the traditional sense, and it all comes across as him wanting to have his cake and eat it too…
I get wanting to keep my job, but the truth is… the numbers aren’t really on his side. Devers routinely ranks among the worst third basemen in the American League in terms of errors. Again, there’s more to it than errors, and I’ve seen Devers make some impressive throws and plays at third.
Yet given the chance to make it about “we,” not “me” in the first week of spring training after the Sox finally brought in some talent, Devers chose to make it about himself. That’s just not the mark of a good leader by any stretch…
Maybe now is a good time to cut ties, and there may not be a better Plan B than Guerrero. Or maybe now is when Alex Cora works his magic, smooths over the situation and both Devers and Bregman put up monster years.
Anything is on the table…