When a team’s announcer takes a shot at a recently traded superstar, it’s rarely just a slip of the tongue. It’s often the public airing of a private war. The messy divorce between Rafael Devers and the Boston Red Sox became primetime drama on June 20, 2025. Devers, now with the San Francisco Giants, stepped to the plate against his old team. The air was heavy with tension, providing exactly the stage for a controversy that was already simmering just below the surface.
During that first at-bat, Red Sox announcer Dave O’Brien delivered a pointed remark. The comment quickly went viral after being shared by Awful Announcing. O’Brien’s veiled shot came as Devers stood in the batter’s box, ultimately going 0-for-5 in a 7-5 Red Sox win. O’Brien said: “I think two wishes can be true at the same time, Will. I wish Raffy Devers was hitting for the Red Sox tonight. I also wish that he had agreed to pick up a glove and play first base when he was asked to.”
But Devers tells a different story, one centered on respect and broken promises. He claims his refusal wasn’t about the position but about the timing. Boston’s front office had told him to be a full-time DH in spring training. When they suddenly asked him to learn first base mid-season, he felt betrayed. “I do feel that I have earned some respect,” Devers later stated. “And if they would have asked me at the beginning of spring training, yes, I would have played [first base].”
“I think two wishes can be true at the same time, Will. I wish Raffy Devers was hitting for the Red Sox tonight. I also wish that he had agreed to pick up a glove and play first base when he was asked to.”
Dave O’Brien during Rafael Devers’ first at-bat against the Red Sox. pic.twitter.com/D6ZgFAZ72L
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 21, 2025
This entire saga exploded after rookie Kristian Campbell set the record straight on June 20. Speaking from the Triple-A Worcester dugout, he debunked damaging rumors. “Yeah, that was false,” Campbell declared. “First off, Raffy never came to me. Never had a problem with it. We were always cool.” He confirmed he never volunteered for first base. The Red Sox organization asked him to learn the position because they were desperate, and he agreed to help the team.
Ironically, both of these men are no longer with the Boston Red Sox current team. Devers was traded to the Giants on June 15 in a shocking salary dump. Boston shed his massive contract after the relationship became unsalvageable. Campbell, in the meantime, was also sent to Triple-A on June 20 after struggling mightily. And his average declined to. 159 since May 1, forcing the team to send him down to reset. The two central figures in this off-field drama are now gone, for entirely different reasons.
But for now, to understand the announcer’s frustration, you have to look at the mess Boston’s infield has become.
Boston’s Infield Conundrum
The entire issue traces back to early May. That was when the team’s starting first baseman, Triston Casas, went down with a season-ending patellar tendon rupture. His injury didn’t just remove a player; it exposed a critical planning failure. Casas was already struggling, hitting just .182 with a below-average 63 OPS+. Losing a struggling player with no clear backup sent the front office scrambling. Their first, and most obvious, solution was asking their highly-paid slugger, Devers, to fill the void. His refusal, rooted in the team’s broken commitment from spring training, triggered a series of events that ended with his trade out of Boston.
After Casas was hurt, and with Devers gone, the Red Sox infield became a unit of inconsistency. While newly acquired third baseman Alex Bregman has been a monster, the rest of the infield has been a revolving door of struggles. Veteran shortstop Trevor Story has been a major disappointment at the plate, hitting just. 227 with a subpar 74 OPS+. The black hole at second base has been even more glaring, as David Hamilton is hitting a paltry. 186 across 50 games.
To fill the massive hole at first base, the Red Sox threw many players at the wall. They got a little bit of unexpected short-term success from veterans in Abraham Toro (. 293 BA, 127 OPS+) and Romy González (. 308 BA, 127 OPS+) in a limited role. But it was obviously a short-term solution and not the ideal strategy. They also called upon top prospect Marcelo Mayer, who showed flashes of power but hit just .206 overall.
All this revolving just underscores a front office in reaction mode, trying to plug holes on a sinking ship instead of navigating a clear course forward.
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