Rafael Devers wins Silver Slugger Award among AL third basemen

Red Sox

This is the second time Devers has won this award in his career.

Rafael Devers won this year’s Silver Slugger Award for AL third basemen. Steven Senne/AP Photo

The Boston Red Sox will be looking to improve several areas of their roster this offseason, but they can at least feel assured knowing that they have the best hitting third baseman in the American League.

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Rafael Devers was awarded the Silver Slugger Award for AL third baseman, MLB announced Thursday. He beat Houston’s Alex Bregman, Cleveland’s José Ramírez, and Tampa Bay’s Isaac Paredes to receive this award.

This is Devers’s second Silver Slugger of his career, with his first win coming in 2021. It also marked the third consecutive season that he was nominated for the award.

Devers batted .271/.351/.500 with 33 home runs and 100 RBIs this past season. He led the Red Sox in both home runs and RBIs and logged at least 65 extra-base hits (67) and an OPS+ of more than 125 (126) for the fourth time in his career.

Devers’s hitting season was characterized by hard swings that rocketed balls off his bats. He finished last season with a 55.5% hard-hit rate, which was the best of his career, and tied for the sixth across MLB.

He joins Atlanta’s Austin Riley in the National League as the third basemen to win this award this season. Other players to win the award this year included Atlanta’s Matt Olson, Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, and San Diego’s Juan Soto. 

Devers’s teammate, Triston Casas, was a finalist for this award at first base, but he lost to Tampa Bay’s Yandy Díaz.

The Red Sox have built a strong core of talented hitters at the infield corner positions. This may be Devers’s second Silver Slugger Award, but if he keeps hitting like he did last season, it most likely won’t be his last.