According to MLB Network’s preseason position rankings, the Red Sox have the second-best third baseman in the game in Rafael Devers.

It’s Devers’ highest placement since first bursting onto the list at No. 2 in the pre-2022 rankings – behind José Ramírez, who is back at No. 1 this year – after being unranked the year before. He ranked No. 4 the past two years.

The annual top-10 lists, which began rolling out on Jan. 7 and conclude Jan. 29, come at a time when the Red Sox have been linked to two other third basemen, free agent Alex Bregman and St. Louis Cardinals trade candidate Nolan Arenado. Bregman slots in at No. 3, an improvement from No. 5 last preseason. This is the second consecutive No. 7 ranking for Arenado.

However, these rankings should be taken with a sizable grain of salt. No Sox players cracked the starting pitching, relief pitching, or catching lists, but the most glaring oversight is undoubtedly in center field, where Jarren Duran was conspicuously absent. The lists are compiled “based on past performance, various offensive and defensive metrics (including both advanced statistics and traditional numbers) and analysis by the MLB Network research team,” yet Duran, who led the majors last year in plate appearances, at-bats, doubles, and triples and posted the third-highest defensive WAR, didn’t make the cut.

Duran’s name could still end up on the unreleased left-field list, but he’s spent significantly more time in center (259 career games) than in left (111), including 105 games in center and 83 in left last year. Meanwhile, Mike Trout, who only played 29 games last season and has exceeded 82 games once since 2019, is No. 5. By the rankings’ own admission, Oneil Cruz “switched from shortstop to center late in the 2024 season.” Somehow, those 23 games in center earned the Pirate the No. 9 spot.