As the Boston Red Sox began a tough six-game road trip against two of the top American League teams thus far, the Rafael Devers drama loomed over the club.
Following Devers’ pointed comments on Thursday, during which he said that he refused to play first base and was critical of how the team managed his situation, principal owner John Henry flew out to Kansas City for a meeting with Devers on Friday, hours before Boston’s 2-1 loss to the Royals in 12 innings.
Devers didn’t hold back his simmering frustrations that the team was asking him to move to first base following Triston Casas’ season-ending injury on May 2. Devers’ comments were particularly critical of how chief baseball officer Craig Breslow had handled him since the team signed Alex Bregman during spring training, a move that resulted in Devers shifting from third base to designated hitter.
“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 through team translator Daveson Perez.
“I’m not certain what (issue) he has with me,” Devers said of Breslow, who played 12 seasons in the majors from 2005-17. “He played ball and I would like to think that he knows that changing positions like that isn’t easy.”
Breslow, who also made the trip to Kansas City along with CEO Sam Kennedy, said Henry characterized the meeting as an honest and candid exchange, interestingly noting that they discussed what it means to be a good teammate.
“I think (being a good teammate) is recognizing when there’s an opportunity to step up, when there’s a need for the group to be in front of any individual achievement or accomplishment,” Breslow told reporters in Kansas City. “And I think it’s important that that gets reinforced given what we’re hoping to accomplish.”
Devers’ frustrations date back to the offseason when the Red Sox assured him he was their third baseman only to sign Bregman. Two days after Bregman signed, Devers didn’t hide his emotions.
“Third base is my position,” he said on Feb. 17, repeatedly saying “no” when asked about DHing.
But by March 13, after a meeting with Cora and Breslow, Devers had acquiesced, saying, “I’m good to do whatever they want me to do.”
Two months later, he does not want to make yet another transition.
To label this situation as a mess would be an understatement.
The team has angered its franchise player, one who signed a 10-year, $313.5 million contract that runs through 2033. They also don’t appear to have a long-term solution at first base for the rest of this season, with only a platoon of utility men Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro currently filling the spot.
In assessing where things stand now, two things can be true:
On the one hand, the Red Sox messed up this situation royally from the start of the offseason, not telling Devers they planned to pursue a lineup upgrade that might move him off third base. It still would have been a difficult conversation even if they’d kept him abreast of their Bregman pursuit, but the Bregman signing seemed to blindside Devers and his camp when it happened.
On the other hand, Devers is an employee of the team and he often says he just wants to win, even criticizing Red Sox management ahead of the 2024 season for not adding more to the roster. Devers making a selfless move to first base would make the team better. It would open the DH slot for Masataka Yoshida, who had a strong spring at DH, but has been blocked from returning to the active roster because he has not built up enough strength in his throwing arm to play the outfield following offseason shoulder surgery. Yoshida can still DH, but not with Devers in the role. The team could also use the open DH spot to rotate players through and subsequently promote top prospect Roman Anthony to enter the DH and outfield mix. Adding Anthony or Yoshida to the roster would undoubtedly strengthen the lineup.
Yes, a move to first base would be difficult for Devers. And yes, there’s risk of injury at first base for a player learning the position. The potential for collisions at the bag is real and losing Devers to injury because he’s trying to play first base would undoubtedly be a massive blow to the team.
That said, moves across the diamond are not unprecedented. Breslow told reporters in Kansas City his initial discussions with Devers were not meant to be an immediate mandate that he move, but something for him to consider.
“I recognize it’s not that simple,” Breslow said. “These aren’t the types of moves that could be made overnight and so the initial conversation that Raffy and I had was of the exploratory nature.”
Kyle Schwarber had played one game at first base when the Red Sox traded for him in 2021 and he managed to learn the position on the fly. Devers isn’t an uber athlete like Mookie Betts, who can glide from second to short to outfield with relative ease. He’s not even Bryce Harper, who made the move from outfield to first following elbow surgery. But Devers spent nine seasons across the diamond playing a serviceable third base. The team would give him a couple of weeks to acclimate to first base in pregame drills before he had to play the position in a real game. And even at that, he might still platoon with Gonzalez at first.
Gonzalez is a good athlete and has shown he can play first with only minor miscues through the first week. But the Red Sox would undoubtedly be better with Devers’ bat at first and either Yoshida or Anthony at DH.
Meanwhile, Cora has been supportive of Devers, managing the balance between his relationship with the front office and his relationship with his star player. As a former big-league infielder for 14 seasons, he warned of the difficulties of playing first base.
“It is a tough position, especially nowadays that you’re pushing that guy to the hole with right-handed hitters,” Cora said this week. “Cut-off and relays, there’s a lot of stuff. I had a conversation with (former infielder Kevin Youkilis) a few years ago. People think that, ‘Oh, just play first base.’ No, it doesn’t work that way — the picks, the throws, everything that comes with it. It’s a tough position to play, a tough position to learn.”
When Devers made his initial remarks in spring training about not wanting to move off third base, Cora tried to calm the waters.
“Me and Raffy have a great relationship. That’s something where I make sure, ‘Like, hey man, this is the baseball side of it. We’re still Raffy and Alex,’’’ Cora said during spring training. “I have been with this kid since November 2017. It’s part of the business. We’ll keep working. Decisions will be made based on roster construction. That’s the reality of it and we’ll keep talking.”
In March, Devers eventually came around to the DH shift.
But Cora also had an interesting remark about Devers’ suggestion that he had been promised he would remain at third base when he signed his contract extension.
“Different people here, right? There is a different leader here,” Cora said on Feb. 17. “Chaim (Bloom) is in St. Louis right now.”
Bloom, the former Red Sox chief baseball officer, was fired after the 2023 season, months after signing the Devers extension.
Late in spring training, Cora said that even when Bregman needed a day off, Devers would not play third base. Devers would instead focus solely on his role as DH. It appeared as though Devers told the team he would make the move to DH, but he would not be returning to the field. That was part of the deal. If they wanted him to DH, he would only DH.
He seemed to admit as much on Thursday, saying, “In spring training, they talked to me and basically told me to put away my glove, that I wasn’t going to play any other position but DH, so right now, I just feel like it’s not an appropriate decision by them to ask me to play another position.”
Devers’ contract does not have a no-trade clause. When asked on Friday whether Devers was a part of the team’s future, Breslow had a short reply: “Yes.”
The Devers debacle in spring training boiled to the surface but eventually simmered down. This latest blowup doesn’t appear to be dissipating anytime soon.
(Top photo of Devers: Ken Blaze / Imagn Images)
