Rafael Devers breaks silence on playing 1B with Giants vs. Red Sox

Rafael Devers was surprisingly traded to the San Francisco Giants by the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.

The former Red Sox star made headlines at the start of the season when he initially refused to move out of third base. In the end, he made way for incoming third baseman Alex Bregman. Just when Devers was making an impact in his role as a designated hitter, the team lost Triston Casas to a season-ending injury in May.

Casas' injury led to the Red Sox management asking Devers to change positions for a second time. However, the All-Star slugger declined to move to first, leading to his trade to the Giants.

Following his move, Devers opened up about playing first base for the Giants after refusing to play the position in Boston.

"In spring training, they talked to me and basically told me to put away my glove — that I wasn’t going to play any other position but DH. So right now I just feel like it’s not an appropriate decision by them to ask me to play another position.

“I would say that I put some good numbers up in Boston and I think that I do feel that I have earned some respect. If they would have asked me at the beginning of spring training, yes, I would have played.”

Rafael Devers looks past his trade ahead of Red Sox showdown

It hasn't even been a week since Rafael Devers was traded by Boston and the All-Star slugger got the chance to face his former team when the Giants hosted the Red Sox at Oracle Park on Friday.

Ahead of Friday's series opener, Devers said he did not hold grudges:

“That's in the past. Those are not decisions that I control, and that's why I'm leaving that in the past right now."

Although he is willing to play first base for the Giants, he admitted he will need some time to get accustomed to his new infield role.

“I’m comfortable [in workouts] and like I said in the past, it’s not a position that you're going to learn how to play overnight,” said Devers. “I just have to continue and practice there.”

Rafael Devers continued as a designated hitter for the Giants in the series opener against his former team on Friday.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

Know More

Edited by Chaitanya Prakash