Rafael Devers got Boston Red Sox spring training off to quite the bang, pouring cold water all over the team’s signing of All-Star infielder Alex Bregman by making clear he has no plans on ceding third base to a superior defender — and not exactly saying no when asked whether he’d request a trade out of Boston rather than shift to regular DH duties. What followed were several straight news cycles worth of drama, in which various members of the Red Sox organization poured various amounts of gasoline on the fire and no one could much figure out what the plan was and who would be playing where. But through it all, we hadn’t heard any follow-up from Devers himself, last year’s shoulder discomfort getting him off to a slow start to this year’s camp.
Until Tuesday, that is, when Devers once again spoke with the media. And while he didn’t provide nearly as many fireworks as he did the first time around, seemingly trying to let this whole thing blow over, his attempts at making peace really just leave us with even more questions than before.
Rafael Devers’ attempt to put Alex Bregman drama behind him falls flat
Again, Devers really did try to put any tension in the past and move forward with what is still one of the most talented rosters in the league. Not only did the slugger reiterate that he’s “not frustrated,” but he also went to bat for manager Alex Cora, calling him “someone I respect a lot”.
“I really don’t know why this is becoming such a big story,” Devers said, according to Mass Live’s Chris Cotillo. “We’re a team and we communicate with each other. I think the most important thing is for us to have a good chemistry together. Like I’ve always said since Day 1, the most important thing for me is that we win. That’s where I stand.”
So, this is all water under the bridge, right? Well, not so fast. For starters, it’s a little hard to believe that winning is in fact the most important thing to Devers when it seems pretty clear that the Red Sox’ best lineup — you know, the one that stands the best chance of winning on a daily basis — includes Devers at DH, Bregman at third base and top prospect Kristian Campbell at second.
Devers can pretend that he’s really just looking out for the team’s best interest, but throughout his interview it seemed like what he was actually doing was looking out for his own.
“I know the kind of player I am,” he said. “I know what I can do on both the offensive side of the ball and also on defense. I don’t know why it’s such a big deal. I know what I can do. I’m confident in what I can do. I don’t need to be enemies with anybody.”
That … sure doesn’t sound like a player who understands what’s actually at issue here. Or he does and is just choosing to ignore it. Either way, it means that the bill will come due for Boston sooner rather than later: At some point, Cora and the Red Sox are going to try and move Devers around a bit to accomodate all their other talent, and we still have no evidence that Devers will be amenable to that. It’s good that everyone can get back to simply putting their work in this spring, but don’t be surprised if we’re having this conversation again in a few weeks’ time.
