MLB Rumors: Red Sox down on Devers, Wainwright preaches urgency, Phillies to trade
By Mark Powell
MLB Rumors: Red Sox media turns on Rafael Devers
Rafael Devers stat line is concerning in the respect that his on-base percentage remains below .300. While Devers has plenty of power (13 home runs) and is hitting .241 (bad, but not terrible), he’s failing to make the impact that his record contract suggests.
NBC Sports Boston’s John Tomase wrote that fans have come to expect more out of Devers. Now that he’s being paid like the face of the franchise, he needs to deliver:
"“Take away his two-homer game in San Diego a couple of weeks ago, and the last month has basically been a wasteland. Devers isn’t hitting velocity, he isn’t hitting for power, and he isn’t hitting right-handed pitching. He swings at everything, he rarely walks, and he’s not delivering in the clutch. Add five errors and average defensive marks, and you’ve got a player who’s not pulling his weight in a Red Sox lineup that desperately needs him to be David Ortiz.”"
Tomase is right in the respect that Boston is falling behind quickly in a crowded AL East. There isn’t much margin for error, and the Red Sox have needed their best hitter to perform for the better part of a month-plus now. Yet, his struggles remain, and fans are frustrated.
“I need to obviously control the strike zone,” Devers said. “I’m not the kind of hitter who’s going to see a lot of pitches. I’m very aggressive, that’s the kind of baseball player that I am. But I know that I need to take some walks when I need to and I’m working on it.”
Devers gets it. He’s frustrated with himself as well, and eventually he will get it right. He’s far too talented to hit like this forever.
The 26-year-old needs to figure things out quickly, though, or else the Red Sox season could be over prior to the trade deadline. As of this writing, they are 11 games back of the Rays for the AL East lead. Yikes.