To say there’s drama between All-Star slugger Rafael Devers and the Boston Red Sox would be quite the understatement.
When the Red Sox signed third baseman Alex Bregman late in the offseason, there were obvious questions about where he would play.
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While Devers has manned the hot corner for Boston, Bregman also plays third base, and is a much better defender.
There seemed to be a simple solution, with Bregman playing third base and Devers becoming the team’s designated hitter. Only one problem: Devers wasn’t interested.
“Third base is my position,” Devers said in February. “It’s what I’ve played. I don’t know what their plans are. I know we had a conversation. I made it clear, kind of what my desires were, and whatever happens from here, I don’t know.”
When asked if he would move to DH, he flatly responded: “No.”
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Nevertheless, Devers ended up agreeing to move to DH, and it appeared the drama had subsided.
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However, when first baseman Triston Casas suffered a ruptured tendon in his left knee last week and was ruled out for the season, the Red Sox again needed some help. The team approached Devers about a switch from DH to first base to replace Casas. His response? More of the same.
“I know I’m a ballplayer, but at the same time, they can’t expect me to play every single position out there,” Devers said to reporters recounting the conversation. “In spring training, they talked to me and basically told me to put away my glove. I wasn’t going to play another position other than DH. Right now, I don’t think it would be an appropriate decision by them to ask me to play another position.”
He added: “He [Chief Baseball Office Craig Breslow] played ball. I would like to think that he knows that changing positions isn’t easy.”
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All this drama has led some to believe the two sides could split at some point in the near future. USA Today’s MLB insider Bob Nightengale reported that’s unlikely to happen until the offseason, if it happens at all.
“The next step could be Devers formally requesting a trade, which likely would not be strongly considered until the offseason,” Nightengale wrote.
After an extremely slow start to the season in which he was 0-for-19 with 15 strikeouts, Devers has heated up, slashing .319/.429/.559 with seven home runs and 30 runs batted in.
The three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger is focused on hitting — and it appears that isn’t going to change anytime soon.
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