The Red Sox said Caleb Durbin he will be the starting third baseman, the midfielder told reporters (including Tim Healey of The Boston Globe). Things have been going well throughout camp, although manager Alex Cora has been reticent to make any official announcements.
Durbin remains where he started 119 games for the Brewers last year. He made three starts at second base for Milwaukee. Durbin started three games in the lead against 10 starts at third base this spring.
The 26-year-old finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting. He stole 18 bases and connected on 11 homers with a .256/.334/.387 line in 506 plate appearances. The Red Sox acquired him last month in a six-player trade that included Durbin and the lefty Kyle Harrisonwho has a good chance to open the season with the Milwaukee trade. He made a strong impression on his new team in camp, hitting .394 with five walks and just three strikeouts over 40 plate appearances.
Cora said the Sox would rather have Durbin play one spot than hit the field. Locking him up at the hot corner leaves second base as the spot to take. Marcelo Mayer it was a favorite all spring. The Red Sox have yet to commit to carrying Mayer in the opening day lineup after he hit .228/.272/.402 with a 30% slugging percentage in his first 44 MLB games.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa again Andrew Monasterio (from Milwaukee in the Durbin trade) could be alternatives if the Sox want Mayer to open the season in Triple-A. Kiner-Falefa and Monasteryo fit well as utility players. They are right-handed hitters and can take short-sided bats if the Sox want to keep the lefty-hitting Mayer from tough southpaws.
Romy Gonzalez he may return to that role during the season, but he will miss at least the first two months. Gonzalez had 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 the lefty reliever. Danny Coulombe.
Coulombe had been a Sox target since the Winter Meetings. The team wanted a more versatile player Jovani Moran acting as the upper left arm of the bull in front of the close Aroldis Chapman. They finally added Coulombe for more than the league minimum of $780K guaranteed, even though his deal was originally going to be for less.
MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reports that the Red Sox agreed to a higher number with Coulombe before flagging something in the medical review process. Jen McCaffrey and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic added some details, reporting it would be a $2.25MM base salary with $750K available in appearance-based incentives.
Coulombe’s original deal comes with a similar-looking incentive package. It also includes up to $1.25MM in roster bonuses, as first reported by the Associated Press. He would get $250K each for the 30th, 60th, 90th, 120th and 150th days on the active roster or the MLB injured list – as long as any IL stints were unrelated to his sprained arm.
In each case, the maximum contract value is about $3MM. If Coulombe stays healthy and holds down his roster spot for the rest of the year, he’ll break out the way he would if not for health concerns. It is not clear what the medical staff marked, although it is related to his arm in some way. In 2024, Coulombe underwent surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow. He missed time in May and June of last year with a sore arm and had a short IL stay in September with shoulder fatigue.
