On May 9, Boston Red Sox owner John Henry traveled to Kansas City to settle a contentious situation with his $313.5 million slugger, Rafael Devers. Just over a month later, Devers was shipped to the San Francisco Giants in a shocking trade.
Henry flew to Kansas City because Devers called out chief baseball officer Craig Breslow the previous day for asking him to replace the injured Triston Casas at first base. Despite Breslow and manager Alex Cora calling the session "productive," Devers still wouldn't acquiesce. As Breslow and team CEO/president Sam Kennedy put it, Devers and the Red Sox couldn't "find alignment" on what was best for the organization, resulting in the homegrown star's departure.
So, why couldn't Devers and the Red Sox find common ground during the meeting with Henry?
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SIGN UP HERE “They wanted me to play first base" Devers said, according to Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe. "I told [Henry] ... eventually, yes. I could play first base but maybe next year. It was not my fault that players get hurt. I felt like if another player got hurt, they would move me again.”
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Devers had already reluctantly moved from third base to designated hitter following the club's offseason acquisition of All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman. The 28-year-old grew frustrated with what he deemed poor communication from the front office, and he gradually became more disconnected from the team that signed him as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic.
"As a trade was being discussed, Devers steadily withdrew from the day-to-day culture of the Red Sox, typically arriving at the ballpark just before the start of team activities for the day," Abraham wrote. "Devers would dress while keeping his AirPods in, a silent message that he wasn’t interested in speaking to anybody. Once the game ended, he would dress quickly and leave."
Devers' attitude flipped upon his arrival in San Francisco. During his introductory Giants press conference, Devers said he would be open to playing anywhere he's asked to play, including first base. In fact, he has already worked out at first base multiple times in preparation to play the position for his new club.
While it would've been poetic for Devers to play first base against his former team, that won't happen when the Red Sox begin their three-game series in San Francisco on Friday night.
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen this weekend,” Giants manager Bob Melvin told KNBR’s “Murph and Markus”. “We haven’t gotten there. … It’s going to take a little bit more time than having him at first base during the Red Sox series.”
First pitch for Friday's much-anticipated matchup at Oracle Park is set for 10:15 p.m. ET.