Throughout the offseason the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last week we discussed Shohei Ohtani’s future. This week we’re doing to do the same with Rafael Devers.

On which team will Devers start 2023, finish 2023, and start 2024?

R.J. Anderson: I assume Devers will start the year in Boston. Things get tricky after that. I don’t know that you can reasonably project the Red Sox to be a playoff team right now, but they showed last season that they’re willing to chase a lost cause to the bitter end. Would they really repeat the mistakes they made with Xander Bogaerts? Maybe, maybe not. I think you have to envision Devers wearing a different jersey in 2024 until Boston ponies up. Maybe he ends up being the (very good) consolation prize on the Shohei Ohtani bidding between the Mets and the Dodgers? Or maybe the Cubs, Giants, or some other team steps up? It’s hard to say for sure, but I’d take the field over the Red Sox for where he’s playing 2024.

Dayn Perry: I’m going to answer Boston for all three questions. I think Red Sox ownership has been so derelict and useless over the last handful of seasons that they’ll be shamed into keeping Devers. The public backlash over ownership’s lack of interest in winning and the front office’s general incompetence has been strong enough to foment just a bit of change.