With Rafael Devers' poor start reaching historic levels, Boston Red Sox manager, Alex Cora, has done nothing but hang Devers out to dry. This is one of the more chaotic topics in baseball right now, and both sides deserve blame.
Is it possible that announcing your franchise player, who wants to play third base and has played third base their entire career, will never play third base for your team again, is not a great move right before the season starts?
— Dan Kelley (@DanKelley66) March 30, 2025
Rafael Devers is now 0-12 with 10 Ks in 2025. pic.twitter.com/bQAc2fJIgU
I must agree that letting all of this leak out to the national media is unprofessional by the Red Sox' front office. So, what do you do if there's an injury, not play Devers at third? That's what you said. It's a poor choice of words that feels spiteful towards Devers, who is now so much in his head and the spotlight that it's affecting his play, and, more importantly, the team's chemistry and overall win-loss record.
Where Cora can be the bigger man and keep things internal within the clubhouse, this all started with Devers' nonchalant attitude toward moving off third base when the team acquired Alex Bregman in free agency. If you recall, Devers showed no interest in having a team-first mindset and was worried only about himself. He, too, could take some responsibility and acknowledge how he went about it, which started all this in motion.
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Who's to blame for Rafael Devers struggles?
Cora doesn't care what you've done your whole career and above all else appreciates a team-first mentality, as any manager would. There are also ways to go about things outside the public light; therefore, both parties are guilty. Moving Bregman to third base makes the team better defensively and ultimately can lead to more wins in a year that Boston is aiming for the top spot in the AL East.
The point is that Devers felt disrespected being moved to DH, but the reality is that nobody cares except him. Nobody is making fun of him for having to DH because the team employed a good defensive player. Red Sox fans don't care if Devers is the third baseman, the designated hitter, or the beer vendor, as long as he's in the starting lineup.
However, a dose of humility would clear a lot of this up. He may not still be the third baseman, but at least Devers can boost clubhouse morale and patch up a rocky relationship with Cora. It can't get much worse than the photo above.