KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Red Sox designated hitter (at least for now) Rafael Devers has repeatedly — and oftentimes quite colorfully, by the way — declined comment when approached at his locker in the visitors clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium over the past two days.
His bat, though, is doing the talking.
Devers has made it clear to anyone and everyone that he’s not interested, at all, in weighing in on a feud with the team that became so testy Friday that team owner John Henry, president/CEO Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow took an impromptu trip to Kansas City to try to clear the air with him. That has not stopped him from raking at the plate.
Devers led the Red Sox with four hits in a 10-1 rout over the Royals on Saturday, reaching base five times and driving in three runs. He also singled and drove in a run in Friday’s extra-innings loss, continuing a torrid start to May that has seen his OPS rise from .789 to .858 in just nine games.
“(He’s) a natural,” said manager Alex Cora. “He knows how to cancel the noise. Obviously, the last few days have been a lot to all of us, but at the end of the day, like he says, ‘All I know is to play baseball.’ He loves playing the game and at 7:05 or 6:10 or whatever, he’s ready to go.”
Devers — once again — made his stance on a potential position switch clear Thursday afternoon when he told reporters he was unwilling to move to first base in the wake of Triston Casas’ season-ending injury and called out chief baseball officer Craig Breslow in the process. The comments were so striking to Red Sox officials that the trio of Henry, Kennedy and Breslow jumped on a private jet in an effort to fan the flames.
While Cora and Breslow — who was not in the meeting with Devers and Cora on Friday afternoon — have addressed the situation since the sit-down, Devers has chosen not to. There has been little clarity on if things have changed behind the scenes. Devers has not taken ground balls at first base before either game against the Royals. On Saturday, Cora would only repeat a common refrain from the last two days: that conversations about the entire roster are ongoing.
“No,” Cora said when asked if a decision had been reached on Devers. “He’s DHing today… We’ll keep talking about stuff. We’ll keep looking for alternatives, with what we need to do to keep getting bette. Of course, we’ve got Romy (Gonzalez), we’ve got Abraham Toro and now we’ve got Sogie (Nick Sogard). That’s the route we’re going to have right now.
“We’re talking,” the manager added. “We had a conversation yesterday and we’re going to keep having conversations.”
So far, Devers’ 2025 has been defined, simultaneously, by both drama and consistent production. After a brutal start to the season in which he went 0-for-19 with 15 strikeouts over five games in Texas and Baltimore, he has been, as expected, one of baseball’s elite hitters. In the last 36 games, he’s hitting .311 with a .954 OPS. He leads the American League with 30 walks and has a .390 on-base percentage. He has reached safely in 14 straight games since the start of the Cleveland series on April 26, during which he’s batting .411 (23-for-56) with 15 RBIs. He’s among the AL leaders in doubles (tied for 4th), RBIs (4th) and runs (tied for 11th).
“I hated the fact people were talking about, ‘Oh, he needs to play third for him to hit.’ No,” said Cora. “He’s a unique hitter. He has made some adjustments throughout the last two weeks. The leg kick is not as high. The timing is on point. I think facing a lot of lefties has helped for him to stay on pitches, just like Jarren (Duran). He did an outstanding job today and we’re very happy with the production.
Any discontent Devers has had with the front office has not impacted his play, at all, and that has provided calm in the Red Sox clubhouse. The 28-year-old, despite all that’s going on around him, looks poised for a return to the All-Star Game for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
“Just quality at-bats,” said ace Garrett Crochet. “Taking his walks, putting good ABs together. The whole team did a great job of that today, realizing the pressure’s not on us. The pressure’s on the guy throwing the ball.”
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