Jazz Chisholm's support for Rafael Devers highlights Yankees' competence over Red Sox

When it surfaced that Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. was willing to move to third base for the good of the team as he returned from his rehab assignment, he was lauded as a selfless team player.

He made it clear that he was willing to do whatever it took to help his team win ball games. That's why when he expressed his support for embattled Red Sox DH Rafael Devers when speaking with the Athletic (subscription required), it raised more than a few eyebrows.

How could it be that a player who just a week ago embraced the decision to move off of his natural position yet again for the good of the team supports Devers' steadfast refusal to move off of DH and get back in the field, this time at first base?

The answer has to do with communication and expectations. It also has to do with status and the secret messaging behind contract negotiations.

While Chisholm Jr. has moved positions several times — he moved to the outfield with the Marlins to make way for Luis Arraez in 2023 and then found himself with a new infield home following Gleyber Torres' refusal to move of second base — he feels that it's Devers' right to tell the Red Sox to kick rocks when it comes to moving to first base.

The Yankees look skilled in player management compared to the Boston Red Sox bumbling

When the Red Sox agreed to an 11-year, $331 million contract extension with then-26-year-old Devers, they sent a message that the third baseman was their foundation for the next decade.

The club had made a conscious choice, trading away superstar Mookie Bets and letting Xander Boegarts walk in free agency, that it was Devers who the team valued most.

In a deal that lasts more than a decade, there's some inherent expectation that at some point in the future a player will be moved to a less demanding position as his aging body proves it can no longer handle the rigors of his current one. However, just two short years later, Devers was left wondering where his home on the diamond would be.

When the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman, they initially weren't sure if the longtime Houston Astro would man second or third base, setting the stage for the drama that would ensue. Devers rightly believed that third base was his position to play, given the lavish extension he was rewarded with just a short time ago and the fact that Bregman could be one-and-done with the Red Sox after the 2025 season.

Baseball sense dictated that the opposite should be true, with Devers grading out as a poor defensive third baseman despite his youth and Bregman still flashing solid leather at the hot corner. But logic and emotion are two different things, especially for a player at the pinnacle of the sport like Devers.

While Devers eventually acquiesced, he viewed the subsequent request to move to first base following Triston Casas' injury as a bridge too far.

Chisholm Jr. highlighted the difference between his contract status and that of Devers as the driving factor behind him agreeing to change positions for the good of the team while supporting Devers' decision to dig his heels in.

The Yankees' electric infielder is under team control through the end of the 2026 season and, without a robust contract extension in hand, doesn't view his position in the league as secure as that of Devers. Moreover, he believes that a big money extension comes with certain implications, which, unless otherwise agreed upon ahead of time, should be fulfilled.

Perhaps the biggest difference is how the two organizations handled these situations from the get-go. When the Red Sox first convinced Devers to move to DH, the message they sent was that he was to put away his glove as his days playing the field were over. A couple of months later, they shocked Devers by asking him to bring his glove out of retirement.

The Yankees, on the other hand, approached Chisholm Jr. about returning to the hot corner ahead of the start of his rehab stint. By being up front about their plans, the Yankees treated Chisholm Jr. like a valued member of the organization. Conversely, by signing Bregman without a plan to make the pieces fit, the Red Sox treated Devers like a pawn, able to be moved around the board at their whim.

After making Devers one of the richest players in baseball, treating him like a replaceable cog in their machine was a clear communication breakdown, and one that other players around the league, like Chisholm Jr., have taken note of.

In this way, the Yankees look like an organization that cares, while the Red Sox appear to lack the ability to produce a long-term vision, easily swayed by the moment, and a team that will look to the players to solve issues that should be firmly within the front office's sphere of responsibility.