David Ortiz just had to sneak one last dig in at Rafael Devers.
Hours before Devers faced the Red Sox for the first time in his career following the shocking trade that sent him to the Giants, Ortiz took a shot at Boston’s former homegrown star.
Ortiz posted to his Instagram Story a photo of him standing inside Fenway Park alongside a No. 34 monument, and the Red Sox later held Devers hitless in five at-bats in a 7-5 road win Friday.
“The thing is that to have some like this at boston you have to just not be a hitter you have to be the full package a all the way around Player … go sox,” Ortiz wrote, while adding, “best organization in baseball.”
Ortiz, whose No. 34 is retired by the franchise and now serves as a special assistant for the Fenway Sports Group, seemingly attempted to say that Devers did not do what was required to be the franchise cornerstone and that’s why his jersey won’t be retired by the team and he’s instead playing in San Francisco.
This message is in line with comments Ortiz has made over the past week that have been critical of Devers and sided with the team.
Ortiz told The Athletic he knew the partnership would not end well due to the drama surrounding a position change earlier this year after the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman.
“I played for the Red Sox a long time,” Ortiz told the publication. “You think everything with me and the Red Sox was roses and flowers? I went through some tough times also. But I was mature enough to understand and keep things internal. Even in the best families, between the best brothers, s–t happens. You need to have the maturity to resolve the problems and move on.”
Details have emerged trying to explain what led to the divorce roughly two-and-a-half years after the sides agreed to a 10-year, $313.5 million extension through the 2033 season.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said the sides hit an “inflection point” and they could not “find alignment.”
Devers hinted Friday night that the Red Sox did not show him respect while moving him to designated hitter and then asking him to move to first base after Triston Casas’ season-ending injury.
“I would say that I put some good numbers up in Boston, and I think that I do feel that I have earned some respect,” Devers said through an interpreter, per The Athletic. “If they would have asked me at the beginning of spring training, yes, I would have played.”
Being asked to switch positions is not something Ortiz really had to worry about during his time in Boston from 2003-16, which landed him a spot in Cooperstown, with the slugger primarily serving as the team’s designated hitter and picking up a first base glove when needed.
Devers did not want to pick up that first base glove when asked, and now the Red Sox will try to win without their homegrown star while Devers attempts to return the Giants to the playoffs.
“The organization is always going to be there. Players come and go. As a player, sometimes you’ve got to put your ego aside and understand that once you get paid, you’ve got to find a way to do what you’re told,” Ortiz told The Athletic recently.
“That’s a message for all young players who think they turn out to be bigger than the game. I’m not saying that Devers was like that. He’s humble. He’s a good kid. But sometimes when you’re young and immature, you (don’t realize that).
“I’m not saying the Red Sox did everything right. But you have to give the club the benefit of the doubt. They’re not trying to make the organization look bad. They’re trying to make good moves that sometimes they don’t have the opportunity to explain.”
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