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What if the Rafael Devers Drama is actually his fault?
I don’t think we’re getting away from the Rafael Devers saga anytime soon. The now San Francisco Giant made his debut with his new team the other day, and more stories continue to leak about his tension with the Red Sox. But what if Boston isn’t the only one to blame?
But what if we’re looking at this all wrong? Sure, the Red Sox aren’t in the clear. However, did Devers make this drama any better? Not really. And it’s easy to mindlessly scroll on X and see fans blaming Devers for this whole situation. So, let’s talk about it.
Why didn’t Devers just “shut up and play”
This is probably the most common argument I’ve seen for the Devers haters. The Red Sox awarded him a $313 million contract in 2023. And yes, his primary position was third base, but do you really think he earned that money for his defense?
Devers got it for his bat. He got it because he has a 25.0 career WAR, an .859 career OPS, and over 200 home runs. He didn’t get paid for his -61 career defensive runs saved or leading either the AL or MLB in errors in seven out of his eight years at third base.
The Red Sox signing Alex Bregman in the offseason gave Devers a perfect chance to become an even better player at the DH position while the Sox upgraded defensively. I get he was a guy to build around, but DH gave him a chance to succeed. This takes me to my next point.
Players move positions all the time, so why a problem for Devers?
This leads to when the Red Sox wanted Devers to pick his glove back up, including for first base after Triston Casas went down with an injury. As Ron Washington once said, learning first base is “incredibly hard,” which is true, but it’s not impossible.
This is the other popular argument made. Why wasn’t Devers more of a “team player” and move positions to help his team? I get why he was petty about it after the Red Sox jerked him around about positions.
But this is what we will factor in. A list of players around the league who have made position changes, whether it was better for the team or themselves.
Mookie Betts: He moved between the outfield and middle infield, and is now primarily shortstop for the Dodgers. He said the move was “doing what I feel like is best for the team,” after making the switch again this year.
Betts won six gold gloves in the outfield. For him to make the move may seem confusing because of that, but he had the teams needs ahead of his own, and you see the powerhouse the Dodgers are now.
Jose Altuve: This one definitely confused people because of his size, but the second baseman began putting in work in left field this year.
He struggled at second base last season, ranking 36/37 among qualifying second basemen in 2024 with a -9 outs above replacement. The move not only allowed Houston to explore better options at second, but also gave a chance for Yordan Alvarez to play DH more.
It hasn’t been a great experience, but it’s the idea that Altuve was willing to try to help the team.
Mike Trout: This was definitely for the benefit of his own health, but a healthy Trout helps the Angels no matter what. It wasn’t a big difference going from center to right field, but between his constant injuries, a less taxing position like right field might help keep him on the field.
Wilson Contreras: Usually, when a catcher reaches a certain age, first base becomes an option for them. It wasn’t the sole reason Contreras made the switch, especially when he suffered a fractured arm and finger last year behind the plate. But when Paul Goldschmidt left, it left a 1B hole that Contreras took, despite only playing five games there in his entire career.
It also worked for Ivan Herrera, who has taken over the catcher role for the Cardinals and has succeeded.
Oneil Cruz: Remember all those highlights about Cruz throwing absolute rockets from shortstop? It made the highlight reels fun, but his 24 errors and below average defense last year led to the switch to center field.
His speed and arm are perfect for the outfield, and again, it helps the team after he struggled at shortstop.
Tyler Soderstrom: He might not be a franchise guy like the others listed, but for a young star to come up and be flexible is always a bonus. Even for the homeless Athletics.
Originally a catcher, the A’s wanted him at first base through the minors. When he debuted that’s where he played. But then the A’s drafted Nick Kurtz last year, and he’s already up in the big leagues. Soderstrom already learned some outfield, and the A’s continued that trend and tried him out there.
When Kurtz hit the IL a few weeks ago, Soderstrom was back at first base. He’s also played a few games at catcher. He’s made himself a valuable player who can go to multiple positions when needed.
So with all that being said, why couldn’t Devers do that? Casas goes down, Bregman at third, why not help your team?
It was enough for Kristian Campbell to allegedly offer to play first base, something that made Devers upset (though manager Alex Cora debunked that claim and said the Sox approached Campbell about 1B, not the other way around.)
Ortiz speaks out about Devers’ communication skills
We heard from Red Sox legend Manny Ramirez publicly bash the Red Sox for how the organization handled this situation. But there’s another Boston Hall of Famer who thinks Devers didn’t help the situation.
David Ortiz spoke out about the Devers drama after the trade, claiming that his ego is what caused the feud.
“You can’t imagine how many times I wrote to Devers trying to give him advice, but unfortunately, he has communication problems. He almost never returned my messages, but I don’t blame him. He’s a good guy, but he definitely needs to improve his communication. He should find an advisor to help him with that.”
David Ortiz on Rafael Devers:
"You can't imagine how many times I wrote to Devers trying to give him advice, but unfortunately, he has communication problems. He almost never returned my messages, but I don't blame him. He's a good guy, but he definitely needs to improve his… pic.twitter.com/HsQOTSTtAz
This one makes me question his side of it the most. Sure, the Red Sox should’ve communicated to Devers better about everything, but if Devers isn’t responding to a Hall of Famer who has previously defended him, why should we think he’s clear of any wrongdoing?
There’s plenty of evidence stacking up that this is all the Red Sox fault, and I’m sure more will continue to leak. Breslow and Cora should absolutely be fired, but I see and understand the other side that says Devers is also to blame.
Can’t blame a franchise guy for getting upset that he’s not being treated how he believes he should. His willingness to be a team guy for the Giants helps his case against Boston.
But I think it’s a fair argument to say that Devers wasn’t perfect either. This whole thing is just a clustered mess. We’re not going to see the end of it any time soon, either.
