It's not every day Rafael Devers is compared to Keanu Reeves. But after Monday's Red Sox loss to the Twins, that's exactly what happened (sort of).
It was all thanks to an improbable slide into third base.
"Unreal," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora of the slide. "I don't know how he was safe to be honest with you. You saw the first play he made today and the way he was moving and he’s a great athlete. I don't know how Gio missed the tag but put it in a great position then, with the rundown he did an amazing job staying in the rundown, letting J.D. (Martinez) and Xander (Bogaerts) get to second and third no harm no foul he’s playing great. I want to see it again because it looked very like the Matrix (starring Reeves), the movie. I didn't know he was able to move that way,"
The slide was just the latest reminder. There have been plenty of examples of how light on his feet Devers has been this season, including another diving stop for the final out of the first inning.
Besides the images, the numbers support the new Devers' narrative. He is currently a plus-one when it comes to Outs Above Average, second of all third basemen. Conversely, Devers finished 2021 with a minus-13 in OAA, light years behind the top third baseman Matt Chapman (plus-17).
Oh, and there still hasn't been a single error charged to Devers, with his Zone Rating sitting at .941. Through 10 games last season he already had a pair of miscues, with a .909 ZR.