The Boston Red Sox and Rafael Devers are once again at a crossroads after chief baseball officer Craig Breslow asked him to play first base. The request upset Devers, and the comments he made were not well received in the clubhouse.
According to MassLive’s Christopher Smith, Devers made it clear that he will not change positions and felt that the team was not staying true to their word. The team moved Devers off third base in spring training when they signed Alex Bregman. At the time, Devers was told he would solely be the designated hitter, but now they are asking him to change positions again.
“Yeah,” Devers replied to a question on if he was upset about being asked to play first base. “I don’t think they stay true to their word. They told me I was going to be playing this position, DH. And now they are going back on that. So yeah, I don’t think they stay true to their word.”
Devers’ comments have started to have a negative effect on the clubhouse as well. According to the Boston Herald’s Gabrielle Starr, his teammates were listening to him talk to the media and were not too enthusiastic about what they heard.
“Several of them were listening intently around the clubhouse and the reactions were not positive,” wrote Starr on X on Red Sox players.
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During a recent episode of “Talkin’ Baseball,” Jomboy Media’s Jake Storiale suggested the Red Sox could trade Devers to the Philadelphia Phillies.
“I have a team, and I have a guy who can play first base and hit right-handed,” said Storiale. “You get off of the Devers contract, and a team that’s been looking for a third baseman upgrade for a long time is the Philadelphia Phillies. Can you imagine the start power? They have (Kyle) Schwarber coming off the books this offseason, so if they don’t think Devers is going to stick at third, that could be your DH spot. (A trade could get done) If it was (Alec) Bohm, and maybe you throw in a couple of those Phillies pitching prospects or something like that.”
The Phillies were rumored to be shopping Bohn in the offseason, but ultimately nothing materialized. Devers would take the Phillies over the top, joining Bryce Harper, Schwarber, Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos. In a National League that features the Los Angeles Dodgers, there is no such thing as too many star players.
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