Rafael Devers is more than putting up All-Star numbers in 2024, but you won't see him in Arlington for the Midsummer Classic next week. On Tuesday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora revealed why.
“He’s not gonna participate,” Cora said, per Mass Live. “Obviously, he has been grinding through a few things, especially his left shoulder. As a group, we believe this is a good time for him to get some rest and take care of it. MLB is going to announce it in the upcoming hours.”
Major League Baseball selected Devers as a reserve this week on the heels of his monstrous weekend against the rival New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Boston won two out of three in the weekend set and Devers had five hits and three home runs.
Clearly, his shoulder hasn't hampered his productivity, but the Red Sox recognize it's more important to have Devers healthy down the stretch than it is for him to play in an exhibition game.
“It’s a testament to our medical staff,” Cora said. “They do an amazing job with him during the week. Raffy has learned how to be efficient with his work and staying healthy. Talking to him, we all believe there’s more here. We’re shooting for something bigger than the All-Star Game. For him to be healthy is the most important thing. But as far as the performance, he understands. He does an outstanding job in the weight room, in the training room, not hitting outside, not taking grounders when he doesn’t need them. He’s a very mature player who understands his craft and that’s the reason he has been able to post.”
Through 77 games played, Devers is hitting .293 with 21 home runs and a .971 OPS. His 3.2 bWAR ranks 10th among American League position players.
Baltimore Orioles third baseman Jordan Westburg will take Devers' place on the American League roster. Westburg is in his first full season in the Major Leagues and is hitting .281 with an .835 OPS for the first place Orioles.
Rafael Devers and the Red Sox are suddenly playoff contenders
After hovering around .500 for most of the first half of the season, the Red Sox are now 49-40 and in position for an American League Wild Card berth. Boston is 19-10 since June 3 and in that time, the Sox have taken four out of six from the Yankees and snuck a game-and-a-half closer to the Orioles, who have stayed hot themselves.
Rafael Devers is hitting .315 over that stretch with a 1.059 OPS.
“He loves the spotlight and he’s very quiet about it,” Cora said after the Yankees series. “But you could feel it [from Devers] in the dugout from the get-go. It seems like the stadium was quiet today compared to the last two days, and he kept going, ‘Let’s go guys, we’ve got to keep going. We’ve got to push.’ And then at the end, he just put us on his shoulders and carried us to the ‘W.'”
Devers has a history of that. His 28 career home runs against the Yankees are the most he has against any team. And as the Red Sox eye a playoff berth, Devers has a career .303 postseason batting average with eight home runs in 26 games.
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