Not much went the Boston Red Sox’s way over the course of the 2022 regular season. From the multitude of injury woes to the sluggish production from the bottom half of its lineup, Boston had a season to forget last year. In the end, Boston finished in last place in the American League East standings for the second time in the last three years.
Rafael Devers was one of Boston's bright spots in the 2022 season. The two-time All-Star recorded 27 home runs, 88 RBI, and an OPS+ of 141 en route to a 14th-place finish in the voting for the 2022 American League MVP Award.
While Devers had himself a formidable campaign, he did not have much to smile about considering that he missed out on playing playoff baseball for the third time in his career.
“I don’t think we felt comfortable being in last place,” Devers said during a press conference on Wednesday. “To be honest with you, last year was disappointing. I feel embarrassed by what we did last year. And that’s why I don’t think that’s going to happen again.
“We’re working towards that goal to be better and to fight for championships. That’s what we do here. And to be honest with you, we felt really embarrassed last year. … But we know we have the guys in there that can turn the page around and can make it to the playoffs and win championships. Like I said before, it was something that happened last year. Nobody was happy. And now we turn the page and focus on 2023.”
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom did not complete any blockbuster moves during the offseason, but the AL East side will at the least see plenty of new faces in the upcoming season. From Devers’ standpoint, he is confident in Boston’s ability to “compete” with any team this year.
“I think we can compete with any team, and that's something I'm really looking forward to,” Devers said.
The Red Sox will kick off their spring training schedule with a road matchup against the reigning National League East champions in the Atlanta Braves on Feb. 25.
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