DEVERS TO THE YANKEES? DO WE REALLY NEED THIS?

Here we go.

Rafael Devers and the Yankees are being mentioned in the same sentence, and naturally Yankee fans are going to start dreaming about home runs into the short porch.

ESPN's Buster Olney recently floated Devers as a potential fit for the Yankees, reportedly saying, "He would be perfect with the Yankees."

Perfect? I'm not so sure.

Nobody needs to convince me Rafael Devers can hit.  The bat isn't my problem. The baggage is. Remember how this whole thing with Boston went down?

When the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman and wanted Devers to move away from third base, Devers publicly pushed back. Then, after Triston Casas went down and Boston approached him about potentially playing first base, Devers wasn't exactly thrilled with that idea either.

Eventually Boston shipped its $313.5 million star to San Francisco. Now we're supposed to look at all of that and say, You know what the Yankees need? Rafael Devers.

Do they? That's the question. This isn't fantasy baseball. You don't just collect names and home-run totals. You're building a clubhouse. And if you're Brian Cashman, before you even think about calling Buster Posey, you'd better know exactly which Rafael Devers you're getting.

Because New York isn't Boston and it sure isn't San Francisco.

If Devers didn't like questions about his position in Boston, wait until he's surrounded by 25 reporters after an 0-for-4 night in the Bronx. That's what concerns me. They need guys willing to do whatever is necessary to win.

Could Devers come here, DH, play some first base and absolutely rake in Yankee Stadium? Of course. Would I love his bat between some of the hitters in this lineup? Absolutely.

But I'm not giving away the farm and taking on a massive contract simply because somebody showed me his Baseball Reference page.

I want to know about the guy. I want to know about the teammate.

And most importantly, I want to know what happens the first time Aaron Boone tells Rafael Devers he's doing something Rafael Devers doesn't particularly want to do. Because we've seen that movie before.

Maybe Devers comes to New York, settles in, lets Judge lead and hits 40 bombs. Great. But before Yankee fans start Photoshopping him into pinstripes, somebody needs to ask the question nobody seems interested in asking:

Do the Yankees really need Rafael Devers... or do they just need Rafael Devers' bat? Those are two very different things.

And after everything we've watched this organization get wrong over the years, that's a distinction Brian Cashman better understand before he picks up the phone.

ALONSO TO THE RED SOX?

Well, Pete Alonso has officially packed up his bats and walked out of Queens — and honestly, who can blame him? After being treated like an afterthought by the Mets last offseason, the Polar Bear decided to bet on himself, and spoiler alert: he won. He’s declining a $24 million player option because apparently, hitting .272 with 38 home runs and leading the National League with 41 doubles earns you the right to shop around. Go figure. Also, good for him.

According to MLB Trade Rumors, Alonso sits just behind Kyle Schwarber and Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami as one of the top power bats on the market — which is basically a polite way of saying “someone’s about to overpay him, and it won’t be Steve Cohen.” Alonso is reportedly looking for a seven-year deal this time, because after the Mets’ lukewarm courting last winter, he’s not just dating for fun anymore. He wants commitment — and maybe a front office that actually calls him back.

Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly tossed out a spicy prediction that the Red Sox could swoop in, especially with uncertainty surrounding Triston Casas’ knee. Kelly suggests Boston might “replace Alex Bregman with Pete Alonso,” which is interesting. But hey, the idea of Alonso mashing bombs over the Green Monster is fun to imagine for Red Sox fans — especially if it means sticking it to the Mets from a few hundred miles north.

Now, I’m not exactly in the Pete Alonso Fan Club, but even I can admit the guy deserved better from the Mets. The problem last offseason wasn’t just the Mets’ indecision — it was Scott Boras. The super-agent nearly froze Alonso out of a long-term deal by overplaying his hand, dragging out negotiations so long that even Steve Cohen admitted the talks were more exhausting than dealing with Juan Soto. And when Steve Cohen calls something exhausting, you know it’s bad.

In the end, Alonso did what smart players do — he's choosing peace, freedom, and the open market. Maybe he’ll end up in Boston, maybe somewhere else. But one thing’s for sure: wherever he lands, he’ll get paid, he’ll hit dingers, and he won’t have to pretend he enjoys answering questions about the Mets’ “future direction.”

Stay tuned — the Polar Bear’s about to find a new cave, and this time, he’s charging admission.

DEVERS JUST FORCED THE RED SOX TO PURSUE ANTHONY RIZZO

Let’s not dance around it—Rafael Devers is being a diva. A high-paid, lineup-clogging, glove-averse diva. The Red Sox asked him to do the team a solid and play first base after Triston Casas went down for the year. Seems like a reasonable ask, right? You’d think he was asked to fix the bullpen or pitch the ninth inning with the way he reacted.

Devers didn’t just decline. He dug in. “I don’t think it’s the best decision,” he said through a translator, adding that he’s only played the position for a couple of months in his life. Boo hoo. Welcome to baseball, where grown men switch positions when their team needs them—unless you’re Rafael Devers, apparently, in which case it’s everyone else's problem.

Now, let’s be honest: Devers refusing to play first base is a bad look. But—ironically—it might be the best thing to happen to the Red Sox this month. Why? Because it’s forcing them to look outward. And that brings us to the most obvious, clean-cut, veteran solution on the market: Anthony Rizzo.

Think about it. Rizzo is a three-time All-Star, a Gold Glove first baseman, and a World Series champ. He’s not the hitter he once was, but he still brings a professional at-bat, plays smooth defense, and won’t throw a tantrum if you ask him to actually wear a glove. He’s exactly the kind of low-risk, high-character move the Red Sox should’ve been making all along.

Instead, they’ve been stuck in neutral—hoping Devers would put on his big-boy pants and help out in the infield. But no, Devers is too busy protecting his turf at third and loafing around as a designated hitter, while the team’s defense at first has all the range of a folding chair.

Luckily, Rizzo is out there, and he's practically gift-wrapped for Boston. MassLive’s Chris Cotillo even floated the idea on Foul Territory, and honestly, it makes way too much sense. He’d bring leadership to a clubhouse that clearly needs it, and unlike Devers, he’d probably be grateful to have a glove in his hand again.

The Red Sox need to act. This is their chance to turn a locker room problem into a roster upgrade. Sign Rizzo, slot him in at first, and let Devers DH his way through the summer with whatever pride he thinks he’s protecting. At least that way, Boston gets a real first baseman and maybe, just maybe, sends a message to the rest of the team: you don’t get to pick and choose when you’re a team player.

So yeah, Rafael Devers might be pouting in the corner, but the Red Sox? They’ve got a path forward—and it looks a lot like Anthony Rizzo.

I wonder if the Sox will make that move.