Last Sunday, when the Red Sox parted ways with Rafael Devers, it wasn’t just a roster move. It was the end of an era. For Devers, Boston wasn’t just a team, it was home. Now, just hours before facing his former team for the first time, Devers opened up about the position shuffle and the way things ended.
Raffy wouldn’t have imagined the team he saw a long future with, the team which re-signed him on a 10-year, $313.5 million deal in 2023, would let him go. But the way they treated him with their demands for position changes, probably, will help him move past it. The messy deal felt all too similar to a trade that happened five years ago – when the Red Sox’s star slugger Mookie Betts was sent to the Dodgers. And Devers also seems to have taken note of the similarities.
“I was surprised when it happened, but I knew it was coming,” Devers said on Thursday to Peter Abraham and Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. “I know the business of baseball, I saw it happen with Mookie [Betts] when he got traded. That kind of prepared me for what happened.”
Over the past few months, the Red Sox shifted him around the field as they saw fit. At first, he had to give up his usual third base to accommodate Alex Bregman. But when Triston Casas got injured, they wanted him to try first base. This time, he refused. Even Red Sox principal owner John Henry made an unscheduled trip to Kansas City to convince him. But clearly, that failed.
“They wanted me to play first base,” Devers opened up about the conversation they had in May. “I told [Henry] that eventually, yes, I could play first base—but maybe next year. It was not my fault that players got hurt. I felt like if another player got hurt, they would move me again,” he added. Sure, a player is expected to put the team first, but the way they handled his move from third base made that nearly impossible.
Now, as Devers and the Giants get set to host the Red Sox at Oracle Park, the stage is set for a thrilling weekend clash. It’s Devers’ best shot at making a statement, and maybe settling the score.
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