Boston Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy is sticking to his guns regarding where to play two key players. With the club enduring a disastrous 2026 season, changes have already taken place. Team officials recently shocked many around Major League Baseball by firing longtime manager Alex Cora. The move was spearheaded by Boston’s chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.
Not only was the move surprising, but it has been unpopular with both the players and fans. Breslow, however, seemingly clashed with Cora during the latter stages of the partnership. In fact, the now former manager made negative remarks about the construction of his roster earlier in the current campaign. Breslow avoided easing an outfield positional logjam in the offseason to help boost the team’s infield.
The Red Sox’s surplus of outfielders was apparently not the only point of contention between Breslow and Cora. The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey is now reporting that the two also disagreed on where to play Caleb Durbin and Marcelo Mayer. Breslow preferred Durbin at second and Mayer at third, while Cora opted to go with the opposite. Tracy has revealed that he is siding with Cora’s decision.
“I like where they’re at,” Tracy said of his infield defense, as reported by McCaffrey. “Especially right now, both of them are playing really well, and Durbin has been exceptional at third base, his defense. So I like where it’s at and switching things like that in the middle of a season, especially at this level, is hard to do.”
Boston Red Sox Cannot Move Caleb Durbin Off of Third Base
GettyCaleb Durbin is playing stellar defense at third base for the Red Sox.
Durbin has started his Boston Red Sox career poorly at the plate. In fact, the versatile infielder is hitting just .165 with a .248 slugging percentage and .502 OPS in 33 games during the current campaign. All of these figures are drastically lower than what he produced with the Milwaukee Brewers a year ago. Nevertheless, as Tracy has pointed out, Durbin’s defense at third base has been solid.
According to Fangraphs, no other MLB third baseman has picked up more defensive runs saved (6) than Durbin in 2026. The newcomer’s dWAR also ranks second-best, and range factor per game is fifth-best among all qualified players in the position. Mayer is playing above-average defense at second base as well. Because of this, it certainly seems as if Cora and Tracy have been right to stick with Durbin at third base.
Boston is Playing Solid Defense Overall
While Tracy is sticking with Cora’s infield defense, he did reveal that Mayer could be given occasional time off at second base. The interim manager claimed that typical outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela may soon get reps in the infield. All of Rafaela’s appearances in 2026 have come in center field. Nevertheless, he has featured at second base 38 times during his MLB career.
Overall, the Boston Red Sox have played quality defense in the current campaign. In fact, they currently lead MLB with 30 total defensive runs saved on the year. The team’s offense, however, has been the main issue this season. Boston is currently averaging just 3.86 runs per game in 2026. This figure is the fifth-worst average in the entire league.
Red Sox Coach Sides with Alex Cora on Key Lineup Issue