Some advice for Red Sox Rafael Devers (and other young stars in any field)

Rafael Devers is already great at what he does at age 28. He’s got a sweet gig as a third baseman with the Boston Red Sox. Now they are likely to be asking him to do something different, and he’s already refusing.

I feel for the guy. Maybe you do, too. If you’re doing something you’re great at and you love, and the boss asks you to take a new position, you’re probably scared and resentful. But here’s some advice: do it anyway. You’ll be better off in the long run.

The details of Devers’ situation

By any measure, Devers is a rising star. The Sox have locked him up with a massive 11-year, $331 million contract. He hit .272 last year with 28 home runs. He’s a below-average fielder, but he’s been working hard on that and has improved every year. Everything for Raffy appears to be trending in the right direction.

What’s changed is that the Red Sox just signed a new player, 30-year-old Alex Bregman, at $40 million a year. Bregman’s right-handed swing is tailor-made for the quirky dimensions of Fenway Park, with its massive wall in short left field. Bregman is also a third baseman, and an excellent fielder. In his first spring training game yesterday he played third base, went three-for-three, and hit a home run over the wall in the Red Sox spring training stadium in Florida, which has almost the same dimensions as Fenway.

Bregman and Devers are both going to be in the lineup nearly every day. But only one of them can play third. Since Bregman is the better third baseman, he’s probably playing there, with Devers moved to designated hitter, not playing in the field at all. (The current designated hitter, Masataka Yoshida, is currently recovering from surgery.)

The other alternatives are for Bregman to learn a new position — less than ideal when he’s already an excellent third baseman — or to trade Devers to another team. It’s either that or move Devers to another position, which is going to displace somebody else.

When sportswriter Dan Shaughnessy asked Devers how he’d react if the Sox made him designated hitter, he answered with one word: “No.” (Devers, whose native language is Spanish, had a translator present for the press setting, but he had no trouble understanding and answering Shaughnessy’s question.) He was very clear about it.

Devers should yield

I can understand how Devers feels. The Sox made an oral promise to keep him at third. He’s worked hard and is improving. He feels like he’s a leader for the future of this team. It’s not easy to change what you’re doing when you’re 28 and everyone says you’re great. Not only that, I’m sure he feels that the Red Sox would be disrespecting him by asking him to give up his spot in the field.

He should do it anyway, for two reasons.

First, the Red Sox management is in charge here. They will eventually do what is best for the team. Devers gets to make his opinion known, but he doesn’t decide who plays when or where. So Devers is not going to force his way onto the field, and if he pouts and whines, he’ll end up traded away from the team he’s always called his baseball home.

But more importantly, no one gets to stand still in life. There are always challenges. In this case, Devers’ challenge is to learn to be the best designated hitter he can be, making himself as valuable as possible. He’d also benefit from continuing to work on his fielding, to make the case that he belongs at third in as many games as possible. And he’d benefit from taking some training reps at first base, too, to make that a possibility for Red Sox management.

No one knows what will happen in the next year. Bregman could get injured. Bregman could get plugged into the opening the Red Sox currently have at second and turn out to be great there. The first baseman Triston Casas might get injured, making an opening for either Devers or Bregman there. Bregman has an option to become a free agent after this year, which would open up third base again in 2026.

Growth is sometimes forced upon us

You don’t always get to choose how you grow. Growth comes from challenges and change. It always requires a step back and doing things you’re not yet good at. But when you’re forced to do something new, you become more versatile. And more versatile people are eventually more successful and happier, because they learn to handle change, not just to think of themselves in only one way, or in only one job.

Raffy, take this opportunity to prove you can grow. You’ll be better off in the long run. It won’t be easy, but I think you’ll soon find that pouting and posturing aren’t effective and feel like crap.

If you’ve been forced into a new role — by your manager or by losing your job — I hope this advice is helpful to you, too. Change sucks. But standing still is worse. Growth is worth pursuing. Even if you were really, really good at what you were doing and getting paid for it.