Rafael Devers was scheduled to make his first appearance of spring training either Tuesday or Wednesday, but shoulder injuries will keep the Boston Red Sox third baseman until Saturday.
Fort Myers, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers (11) participates in spring training workouts at Fenway South Player Development Complex. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Last week, manager Alex Cora said the updated target dates for Rafael Devers' spring training debut were either Tuesday or Wednesday.
Time to adjust the schedules again.
Devers is still working through shoulder injuries and will not see game action Tuesday or Wednesday, after all. The Boston Red Sox third baseman will instead play in his first official game Saturday against the split-squad Atlanta Braves, Cora told reporters Tuesday morning.
By that point, there were only be nine days left on the Grapefruit League slate, so Devers won't have a very long runway to prepare for the regular season.
Devers is set to face Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler in simulated back field games, though, per The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey.
As a result of the numerous injury delays, Cora has not gotten the opportunity to experiment with a defensive alignment that includes both Devers and free agent signing Alex Bregman. Both are third basemen by trade, but Bregman is a Gold Glove defender and Devers has been producing sub-par numbers in the hot corner for years.
Moving Devers to designated hitter could be in the cards, with his health playing just as large a part as Bregman's encroachment on third.
Devers was named an All-Star for the third time in his career in 2024, batting .272 with 28 home runs, 83 RBIs, an .871 OPS and a 3.7 WAR. The two-time Silver Slugger ranks second in the American League with 169 home runs since the start of the 2019 season.
The 28-year-old heading into the second season of his 10-year, $313.5 million megadeal.
