Will Red Sox Talk To Rafael Devers About Move To First Base? Alex Cora Answers

BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox already changed Rafael Devers’ position once this season by moving him off third base to designated hitter.

Triston Casas’ significant knee injury that will cause him to miss the rest of the season could prompt the Red Sox to move Devers once again and have him try to take over first base duties despite never playing the position in his career.

But the Red Sox have yet to broach the subject with the three-time All-Star.

“No,” Cora said Tuesday if he had a conversation with Devers about playing first base.

Cora’s response raised the question if the Red Sox intend to ever have that conversation with Devers? Cora’s answer stayed the same.

“No,” Cora said.

With Devers filling in at first base off the table, the Red Sox plan to approach the corner infield position by platooning Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro, who signed a minor league contract with Boston this past offseason.

Gonzalez started the first three games after the injury to Casas and will in all likelihood get most of the work at first base over Toro. Gonzalez, who is batting .327 with six RBIs and three stolen bases, was used in a utility role by the Red Sox last year and to start this season, earning eight starts already at first in 2025.

The Red Sox called up Toro this past Saturday and he has limited experience in his career at first, making just 11 career starts there. He’ll add one more to that total Tuesday with the Red Sox starting him at first to begin their series against the Rangers.

“We’re staying the course. We got these two guys here,” Cora said. “… Romy has done an amazing job in his starts over there. We’ll keep going that way.”

Toro showed with Triple-A Worcester he could make an impact by hitting .310 with two home runs and 13 RBIs in 28 games. The 28-year-old infielder has played 366 games over seven MLB seasons, and the Red Sox hope Toro will play a role in helping them navigate a difficult situation at first base.

“A good at-bat. Good defender. Versatile,” Cora said of Toro. “In spring training, we were able to see him on an everyday basis. He has a pretty good idea offensively. He knows what he wants to do. He hunts pitches in certain areas and he executes. He’s patient, he can slow it down.

“He did an amazing job in spring training, got off to a great start in Triple-A. You sign those guys in the offseason for situations like this and we expect him to play a little bit at first. And we expect him to contribute.”