The Boston Red Sox shockingly traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants after a long saga that originally stemmed from his being removed from third base to make way for Alex Bregman.
Devers was slotted in as the everyday designated hitter when Triston Casas suffered a seaosn ending knee injury. The Red Sox reportedly asked him to play first base, but he refused. He went on a rant in the media about how the Red Sox expect him to change positions again after they told him he would be the designated hitter.
The move brought questions about whether Devers had a "team first" mentality. Recently, Red Sox chairman Tom Werner spoke on the situation and noted he was not happy with Devers' unwillingness to play first base when the team needed him to.
“It was a discouraging episode,” Werner told Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe on Sunday. “Just pick up a glove.”
Werner was clearly upset that Devers did not want to play first base to help the team. He likely felt worse when Devers did end up picking up a glove. In fact, he played 28 games at first base for the Giants. He is expected to be the primary first baseman next season, and responded to Werner's comments on Tuesday.
“That’s in the past,” said Devers through his translator, per The Mercury News' Justice delos Santos. “I don’t want to talk about it. It’s over. I don’t have any opinions on what he said. So, let’s concentrate here and just leave the past in the past.”
Devers spent eight full seasons with the Red Sox before he was traded last season. He signed a 10-year, $313.5 million deal before the 2023 season. He was a key part of the Red Sox's 2018 World Series run and hit 215 home runs for the team in his tenure.
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