The Red Sox’s Rafael Devers saga will likely come to a close this weekend. Boston, which traded the star slugger on Sunday evening, will face Devers’ new team, the Giants, for a three-game set in San Francisco. The breakup between Devers and the Sox is unfortunate, layered with personal ties. Family was involved on both sides in a split that felt unprecedented — not because it happened, but because of how quickly it did.
You know the story by now. Devers refused to play first base this season after being moved off third base and into the designated hitter role to make room for Alex Bregman, Boston’s splashy free agency signing. The Red Sox never communicated to Devers that they were pursuing Bregman in the first place, and that silence fractured the relationship.
When manager Alex Cora was asked during spring training if he planned to bring in any Red Sox alumni — namely David Ortiz, who later said Devers rarely responded to his messages — he pushed back firmly on the idea.
“No,” said Cora. “I’m going to talk to Raffy. We’re going to keep working. And, you know, like I said, we’re going to make decisions based on what we need to win the division. That’s the most important thing. And me and Raffy, we have a great relationship. That’s something that I make sure I say, ‘Hey, man, this is the baseball side of it. We’re still Raffy and Alex. I’ve been with this kid since November 2017.”
There’s no way around it — that relationship is fractured now, too. Devers presumably felt crossed by Cora, not just the front office, embarrassed that the situation unfolded so publicly without knowledge. On the flip side, Cora likely felt crossed by Devers, too. Keep in mind, Cora is widely known for his communication skills and his ability to connect with players. He confidently stated that he would handle the situation himself — not anyone else. That was a misstep, and it, in part, led to the Red Sox trading away one of the best hitters of this generation.
Sometimes, it’s better to hear from a brother than a parent.
“Raffy Devers is Raffy Devers,” Cora told reporters in Seattle earlier this week ahead of the club’s series against the Mariners. “He’s a special hitter and we all know that. But this is an opportunity for other guys to get at-bats and contribute. There are some reasons it didn’t work out. I don’t want to pinpoint stuff, but the last few months haven’t been easy. We made decisions in the offseason. Circumstances have changed the last month. It’s a decision we made as an organization. Raffy is going to be with the Giants.”
With the Giants, Devers will likely enter a situation where he has more respect for president of baseball operations Buster Posey than he did for Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. Although both were players, Posey speaks Devers’ language a bit more. He’s not against analytics, but he’s made a concerted effort to prioritize traditional scouting at the start of his tenure — something many teams, including the Red Sox, have gradually devalued.
Secondarily, Posey has the résumé, capped with three World Series rings and a National League MVP Award. Bob Melvin has plenty of skin in the game, too. He’s been managing since 2003 and coaching since 1999. He has tons of experience with personalities, too. He got the best out of Yoenis Cespedes during their time together in Oakland, before Cespedes quickly went off the rails with the Mets. The two remained close even after Cespedes left the A’s.
In Devers, the Giants will have their best hitter since Barry Bonds, giving them a real shot at a deep postseason push.
Despite the Red Sox framing the move as being for the best, it doesn’t come without pain. Devers had been in the organization since he was 16. Yet another homegrown star out the door, something all too familiar in Boston.
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