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When reflecting on the earth-shattering Boston Red Sox-Rafael Devers split, both now and in the many years to come, people will pinpoint the Alex Bregman signing as the inciting incident to this chilling and surreal saga. The player himself has been a fantastic addition to the ballculb, but his arrival and subsequent move to third base — Devers' natural position — gave way to tension, an optics nightmare and a stunning trade that everyone is still processing.
When making sense of this distressing situation, it is easy to examine the relationship between those two stars. A personal rift that spilled into the clubhouse would provide a straightforward narrative as to how we reached this conclusion — Devers was dealt to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday, shortly after homering versus the New York Yankees in a 2-0 win. But as of now, that does not appear to be the case. Actually, Bregman's presence seemingly smoothed some of the initial turbulence.
When Devers was first approached about possibly switching to designated hitter in order to accommodate his new Gold-Glove teammate, he vehemently pushed back on the notion and accused the Red Sox brass of reneging on past promises. He eventually complied, and there is now a bit more clarity as to why he came around.
“Those close to Devers noted that part of the softening of his stance came from getting to know Bregman, and seeing first-hand the newly signed free agent’s impact on the club,” Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic writes.
Rafael Devers and Red Sox could not get on same page
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Giants fans will take comfort in knowing that the two-time Silver Slugger was not completely forced against his will to abandon the hot corner. This piece of information suggests that he at least somewhat acknowledged the benefit of Bregman playing third. His willingness to adapt will be important to monitor moving forward.
When Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury in early May, Boston asked Rafael Devers to shift from DH to first base. That did not go well. The three-time All-Star vented his frustrations to the media and called out chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, causing Red Sox principal owner John Henry to personally meet with the now-former franchise cornerstone. Tempers cooled and Devers proceeded to tear the cover off the baseball, but looking back, this public airing of grievances was a fatal blow to his relationship with the organization.
Everything began with Alex Bregman, however. Although he and Devers evidently coexisted nicely, the way the positional change transpired sparked this fire. The former is currently on the injured list with a strained quadriceps and could opt out of his contract this offseason. The latter is now in San Francisco, a place that clearly views him as someone who can bring the team back to a championship level.
The fallout from this seismic change in circumstances will linger in the atmosphere for a long time. But the Red Sox and Devers will re-converge very quickly. Boston heads to the Bay for a three-game series beginning on Friday. With Matt Chapman nursing a hand injury, there is a distinct possibility the 2018 World Series champ plays third base for the Giants.
