Caleb Durbin will be the starting third baseman for the Boston Red Sox on Opening Day, he told reporters Wednesday.
Durbin, who was acquired in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers just before spring training, said manager Alex Cora informed him of the news Tuesday.
“I’m going to stick at third from now on,” Durbin told reporters. “Up until that, I guess it was pretty much just looking at the board and wherever I was that day — and I was mostly at third, obviously. But [Cora] said I’m going to stay put at third for now.”
The Red Sox had a vacancy at the position after free agent Alex Bregman signed with the Chicago Cubs during the offseason, and Durbin, 25, has been sharing time at third base with Marcelo Mayer this spring.
Durbin has impressed both with his bat and with his defense during spring training. He is hitting .394 in 33 at-bats through Tuesday and has 7 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Mayer, meanwhile, is hitting .250 in 24 at-bats with a home run and 2 RBIs.
“I love third base. I’m excited,” Durbin said. “I’m ready wherever the team needs me, though, is kind of the idea. But they feel good with me at third. I obviously feel good at third. So, excited. Hopefully stick around there for a little bit.”
Durbin hit .256 with 11 home runs and 53 RBIs last season and finished third in National League Rookie of the Year voting. He won Milwaukee’s third-base job after being acquired from the New York Yankees in the Devin Williams trade.
Mayer is the leading candidate to start the season at second base, while shortstop Trevor Story and first baseman Willson Contreras will fill out Boston’s infield.