Rafael to do against the Red Sox: what was wrong, and how can the two sides repair it?

If you like a small drama with your baseball, look no further than the Boston 2025 Red Sox, who have a little situation in your hands.

The difficult situation is a clear blow of the heads between the unhappy superstar Rafael Devers and the front office of the Red Sox, in particular the teammate of the team, Craig Breslow. Disarken told journalists Thursday in Boston that he was recently invited to start working at the first basis after Knee injury of the season of Triston Casas. His answer, in short: no.

Before this season, undress reluctantly has agreed to become the full -time designated team of the team After the signing of the third base player Alex Bregman. And even if it took a little time for the deals to make themselves comfortable – you may remember Son 0 for 19 start to the season – Lately, the triple All-Star was more like the striker we expect from him, with a 138 WRC + during the last month.

But now, asked to recover a glove again, Devers has clearly had enough of the Red Sox requests.

“I know that I am a ball player, but at the same time, they cannot expect me to play each position,” said journalists on Thursday. “During training in the spring, they told me about it and essentially told me to tidy up my glove, that I was not going to play another position, but DH, so at the moment, I just have the impression that it is not a decision appropriate by them to ask me to play another position.

“They put me in this situation, and they told me that they did not want to allow me to play another position. Now I think they should do their job, essentially, and hit the market and look for another player. I don't know why they want me to be between the two as they were. ”

This frustration is not new for Devers, and it is not really to play at the first basis. This dilemma has clearly prepared since training in the spring, when the team signed the Bregman free agent to play third – the spot that Devers believed to be its long term after its signing of an extension of $ 103.5 million in 103.5 million dollars in 2022.

When asked at the time if he would be willing to go from the third goal, Devers did not hide his feelings.

“I play third,” he said in English in March.

“They asked me the question of playing DH, and I gave them the answer I just gave: no,” he continued in Spanish.

Then something happened behind the scenes, because a few days later, during his next session with the media, Devers said he would do everything the team needed him to win. Conversations with manager Alex Cora have probably helped to correct the questions.

And after that, everything was cool, right? The Red Sox made a group hug and dropped it?

No, not even close.

Because if there is a person who has clearly not exceeded this, it's out. Not only did he not overcome what happened in the spring, but he also clearly explained his dissatisfaction with Breslow for having put him in the losing situation to have to answer the question.

“I do not understand some of the decisions that GM takes,” continued on Thursday. “The next thing you know, someone in the outside field is injured, and he wants me to play in the outdoor field. I think I know the kind of player I am, and that's right that I stand.”

Can Rafael Devers and the Red Sox straightened things before it is too late? (AP photo / Mark Stockwell)

(Associated Press)

How did the Red Sox managed this badly?

The Red Sox have a big problem on their hands, and these are not only disarmaments. This is the fact that they tried to resolve their position flow before the start of the season, and it actually worked. But in the light of Casas' injury, they went to the well too much, and their centerpiece of franchise told them to hike.

Boston could have avoided all this headache if he had divided the time of delay between the first base and the DH during training in the spring. Of course, Casas was healthy at the time, and the team should have been creative with the representatives, but that would have put them in a situation much easier to navigate than that in which they are currently. In addition, sticking to DH for the next decade has never seemed to be a big plan, anyway.

Instead, whether the organization is planned or not, they have alienated their franchise player, who has the impression of being chosen by the front office. And if we have learned something in sport, it is because having an unhappy superstar is not a recipe for long -term success.

The Red Sox also put Cora in a difficult position. The manager was able to smooth things into the spring, but now he finds himself in the middle of the season with the greatest superstar of his team frustrated by what he considers an unfair demand.

In addition, all this Kerfuffle has become a national story about the unfortunate of the best paid player of the Red Sox. At a time when Boston is finally back to be relevant to baseball, Just two games from the Division summitIt is a huge distraction, whether or not it call it.

What was Rafael Devers?

Devers has always been a smiling and fun player, and according to all the accounts, he is a good teammate behind the scenes. This is part of the reason why the Red Sox made the investment in him they made. But while Boston made mistakes in the management of this case, the 28 -year -old superstar is also 28 years old.

The first error in deverses was his inability to recognize that circumstances are changing. Yes, when the team gave him $ 330 million, they gave him the third basic player. But this front office is no longer in charge, and if the new front office decides that it is better for the team that Devers is moving to a new position, then that's what will happen. This does not mean that it will not be paid, and it does not mean that it is not an important part of this team, but it means that the Red Sox have a philosophy different from that of the previous regime.

And once Casas was injured in the knee, whatever the previous plans that the team had carried out, because the construction of the alignment has changed entirely – a result which was somewhat inevitable. The first base is an area where Boston has little depth behind the Casas. If their first basic player was injured, someone else would probably change position, whether it be auspipe or one of his very praised perspectives, like Roman Anthony.

The second delay error did not realize that the optics of this scenario are not in its favor, in particular the more it drags for a long time. With his initial moving rejection to DH after the team brought a better defensive third goal player, Devers risked being selfish, whether or not. And with the team asking him if he would again change the positions out of necessity in the heels of Casas which descended for the season, the categorical decrease in delay may not be a team player.

It is refreshing to see a player being honest on what he thinks of his situation. But honesty sometimes comes with repercussions.

Where are they going from here?

At the end of the day, the Red Sox have the right to ask their franchise player to change jobs for the good of the team. And devers, as a franchise player, has the right to say no and to remind him that he has already moved positions. Not all players will be as flexible as Mookie Betts or Bryce Harper. Many players, like Devers, want to play where they feel comfortable. In the case of devers, he clearly has the impression that he has already tried to help the team by becoming a full -time designated striker, which was not ideal for him in the first place.

Devers is the oldest player in the Red Sox and an important presence in the clubhouse. It is important to note that after the organization's initial request for him to leave the third, his teammates had their backs, notably Bregman and Casas.

“Here in the clubhouse, fortunately, the relationship I have with my teammates is great,” said Devers Thursday.

In the future, this situation is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. The Red Sox could very well try to smooth things out internally, but for the second time this season, it is outdoors that their best player is unhappy, and now he publicly calls the front office.

Go through this – on the ground and out of – will not be an easy solution for the permanent and the Red Sox. But in one way or another, the two parties must meet to make this right. Because if they can't, it will continue to get worse, and it won't go well for anyone.

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