BALTIMORE — Through Rafael Devers’ first four games, he ranked in just the 30th percentile among major league hitters in bat speed (70.3).
He continued to have difficulty catching up to pitches Monday in Boston’s 8-5 loss to the Orioles here at Camden Yards. He went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and two walks.
He’s 0-for-19 with 15 strikeouts in five games. It’s a historically bad start for the 28-year-old left-handed slugger.
Manager Alex Cora — who said he saw some positives Monday — talked over the weekend about the Red Sox identifying something in his setup/mechanics that needs to be fixed.
Cora ruled out two potential causes for the slump when asked after Monday’s loss if the decline in Devers’ bat speed has to do just with his mechanics being out whack or maybe something else like his shoulders. Could there still be a lingering effect?
Devers eased his way into spring training after injuries to both shoulders ended his 2024 season prematurely.
“It’s not the shoulder. It’s not the DH thing,” Cora said. “And he was very vocal about it a few days ago. And the shoulder, he’s fine. Now it’s a matter of keep working hard but getting to the point of hitting the ball out in front. That’s it. If you look from the side, it’s behind sometimes more than others.”
It is Devers’ first year as the full-time DH and he needs to find a routine. But as Cora said, “the DH thing” is not the reason for the slump — and Devers hasn’t used it as an excuse.
“I’m feel comfortable with everything I’m doing right now,” Devers said Monday through translator Carlos Villoria Benítez. “It’s not a position that I’ve done in the past. So I need to get used to it. But I feel good.”
Cora saw a swing during Devers’ ninth inning plate appearance that showed the slugger might be turning a corner. He fouled off the fifth pitch, a 97.8 mph sinker, to left field before walking on the sixth pitch.
“There was one swing the last at-bat that I was like, ‘OK. we’re getting there.’ The foul ball to left field,” Cora said. “He was behind the ball and he actually got the barrel to it. Good at-bat, too. He walked.”
Cora said Devers is at his best when driving the ball to the opposite field.
”That’s Raffy’s superpower is left-center,” Cora said. “He’s never been a pull hitter, right? He pulls the ball in the air when it’s soft or in certain venues. … But when he drives the ball to left-center, it’s when he’s locked in. And we haven’t seen that yet.”
Devers said he felt good during all his five plate appearances Monday. He said he thinks his at-bats are improving.
“I never change the way I hit,” Devers said. “I’m still aggressive. … Maybe I’m thinking too much on what the pitcher might throw or not.”
Cora pointed to Devers having four walks in his first five games.
“Yeah, the strikeouts are up there and … we’ll find it mechanically,” Cora said. “The good thing is that he’s not chasing pitches. He’s swinging at pitches in the zone. Obviously the bad thing is he’s swinging and missing (at) those pitches. But there were some positives today and we just build from that.”
The Red Sox have Tuesday off. They will face the Orioles here again Wednesday at 6:35 p.m.
“He’s gonna keep playing,“ Cora said. “We’re gonna play him. He’s gonna hit second for us. And he will hit. No doubt about it. That’s something that we all know. It’s just a matter of when. And it’s a small sample size. If this happens in July or August, we’ll not even be talking about it. But it’s early in the season and of course everybody is paying attention to it.”
