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Caleb Durbin Open to Position Change, But Red Sox Not Asking Yet
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Right on cue, Caleb Durbin was almost put in a position to live up to his word.
Less than 24 hours after the third baseman told Alex Speier of The Boston Globe that he would be open to changing positions if it made the Boston Red Sox better, the team went out and traded for Curtis Mead, who has been the regular third baseman for the upstart Washington Nationals this season. Although Mead wasn't in the line for Sunday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays, it left some to wonder whether it would be Durbin's last game in the hot corner.
That's not the case, according to Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.
Breslow said the plan is to keep Durbin at third and slot in Mead at second base, Boston media personality Nat Gordon posted on X. The move -- or non-move, in Durbin's case -- makes sense because Durbin has been one of the best defensive third basemen in baseball this season. His glove is why the team stuck with him through a slow offensive month to begin the season.
Still, plans can change. If they do, Durbin doesn't sound as though he'd have a problem with that.
"I've played second base my whole entire life," Durbin told Speier, per Matthew Crory of "The Pesky Report." "Today, I'd probably be most comfortable playing third base, just because that's where I've taken ground balls all year, but it wouldn't take long for me to get comfortable there.
"I came into this year willing to be wherever they need me, and that hasn't changed. Wherever they need me to play, I'll be there."
It seems like a century ago now, but just over a year ago, the Red Sox had a third baseman who sang a different tune. Rafael Devers, who had given up his position to accommodate free agent Alex Bregman, refused to play third base and ended up getting traded to the San Francisco Giants. While the Red Sox still haven't been able to replace Devers' bat -- he entered Sunday with an .808 OPS and a league-leading 27 doubles -- Durbin's strong play and flexibility give them options.
After a slow start to the season, the Red Sox are clearly for real. It took some time for them to live up to rightfully lofty preseason expectations , but as the stretch run begins, any lineup combination must be in play.
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