The Red Sox have told Caleb Durbin he’ll be the primary third baseman, the infielder told reporters (including Tim Healey of The Boston Globe). Things had clearly been trending in that direction throughout camp, though manager Alex Cora held off on making any formal declarations.
Durbin remains at the position where he started 119 games for the Brewers last year. He’d made three starts at second base for Milwaukee. Durbin started a trio of games at the keystone against 10 starts at third base this spring.
The 26-year-old is coming off a third place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting. He stole 18 bases and connected on 11 homers with a .256/.334/.387 line across 506 plate appearances. The Red Sox acquired him last month in a six-player trade built around Durbin and left-hander Kyle Harrison, who has a good chance to open the season in Milwaukee’s rotation. He has made a strong impression on his new team in camp, batting .394 with five walks and only three strikeouts over 40 plate appearances.
Cora said the Sox prefer to have Durbin playing one position rather than bouncing around the infield. Locking him in at the hot corner leaves second base as the spot up for grabs. Marcelo Mayer has been the favorite throughout the spring. The Red Sox have yet to commit to carrying Mayer on the Opening Day roster after he hit .228/.272/.402 with a 30% strikeout rate in his first 44 MLB games.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Andruw Monasterio (who came over from Milwaukee in the Durbin trade) would be the alternatives if the Sox want Mayer to open the season in Triple-A. Kiner-Falefa and Monasterio fit best as utility players. They’re each right-handed hitters and could take short side platoon bats if the Sox want to keep the lefty-hitting Mayer away from tough southpaws.
Romy Gonzalez could be back in that role midseason, but he’ll miss at least the first two months. Gonzalez underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder last week. The Sox placed him on the 60-day injured list when they finalized their $1MM free agent deal with lefty reliever Danny Coulombe.
Coulombe had been a Sox target dating back to the Winter Meetings. The team wanted a more established player than Jovani Moran to serve as their top lefty bullpen arm in front of closer Aroldis Chapman. They ultimately added Coulombe for a guarantee marginally above the $780K league minimum, though his deal was initially going to be a little pricier.
Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports that the Red Sox had agreed to terms with Coulombe at a higher number before flagging something in the medical review process. Jen McCaffrey and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic added specifics, reporting that it would have been a $2.25MM base salary with $750K available in appearance-based incentives.
Coulombe’s actual deal comes with the same appearance incentive package. It also includes up to $1.25MM in roster bonuses, as first reported by The Associated Press. He’d earn $250K apiece at 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 days on the active roster or MLB injured list — so long as any IL stint isn’t related to his pitching arm.
In each case, the maximum value of the contract would be $3MM. If Coulombe stays healthy and holds his roster spot all year, he’ll come out just as well as he would have if not for the health concern. It’s not clear what specifically the medical staff flagged, though it’s evidently related to his arm in some form. In 2024, Coulombe underwent surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow. He missed time in May and June last year with a forearm strain and had a minimal IL stay in September due to shoulder fatigue.
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