FORT MYERS, Fla. - It is a bench that has always jumpstarted Red Sox seasons with some sort of controversy. Twenty-or-so-foot long plank just outside the JetBlue Park home clubhouse, representing the place cameramen and reporters park in front of while players, managers, executives and owners offered their individual launching pad for the upcoming season.
When the Red Sox were on the other side of town, the exercise was always done on a picnic table, leading to memorable needle-moving moments thanks to a myriad of disgruntled superstars.
It's why even after the Sox moved into their new digs in 2012, the space is referred to as the "picnic table" when looking forward to the annual exercise. The tradition continued for a while, with owner John Henry helping the buzz until he decided he didn't want any more buzz.
Monday afternoon, thanks to Rafael Devers, the bench buzz was back ... and back big. It was unique. It was pointed. It was honest. It was the kind of interview people will be talking about for years to come.
Devers was asked about the idea that he might not play third base with Alex Bregman now on the team. He could have simply said we will see what happens and he is here to do whatever is best for the team. That didn't happen.
How would you react if the Red Sox asked you to DH?
"No." (In English.)
Just to be clear ...
"No." (In English.)
Whose decision is it?
(This one was relayed through translator Daveson Perez) "Like I said, my position is third base, and whatever it is that they want to do, is what they want to do. But I feel like my position is third base.”
Did they ask you to play DH?
"They asked me the question about how I feel about DH and, yeah, I gave them the answer I just gave: No.” (Through the translator.)
What do you weigh?
"Two-forty." (In English.)
Did they insist on you being a DH?
"No." (In English.)
What if they do insist?
"No." (In English.)
So, just third base?
"Yes." (In English.)
First base?
"No." (In English.)
Are you frustrated or annoyed?
"No, I'm good." (In English.)
It was all so matter-of-fact. It was all so memorable. It was all so unexpected ... for everyone except the two people who had met with Devers Friday to broach the idea of moving off third base, manager Alex Cora and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.
"I knew he was going to say that," Cora said in his meeting with the media soon after Devers' sit-down. "I wasn't surprised." He also added when asked about the meeting, "We talked about every possibility that could possibly happen. He gave us his take about it and we’re going to keep talking. We talked about different situations. We talked about DHing. He said, ‘I’m a third baseman.’"
Henry saying Pablo Sandoval's body fat percentage was 19 percent. The owner saying the Red Sox screwed up the Jon Lester negotiations. All those David Ortiz delicious rounds of mid-February honesty. This, in many ways, topped them all.
Perhaps it was because of Devers' matter-of-fact delivery, never seemingly recognizing that switching positions isn't really his decision. He wasn't going to retire. And when it was asked if demanding a trade would be his counter-move, his answer didn't seem to suggest he had thought a whole lot about that avenue.
"That’s a tough answer to give," he said through Perez after a brief sigh. "I haven't given it much thought. I think you all know that this team drafted me. I've been here my entire career. I'm a Bostonian through and through. And I really haven’t asked myself that question, but I'm open to listening and hearing what they have to say moving forward. It's not like I'm close to those conversations."
Devers' solution to the potential problem in his mind was simple: "No."
So, after all of this delicious "picnic table" talk, what is the reality of the Devers situation?
- The Red Sox are going to slow-play an actual decision, with Devers still not cleared to participate in fielding drills until next week while coming back from his shoulder ailment from a year ago.
- The Red Sox in no way, shape or form feel beholden to live up to a perceived promise Devers said was made when he signed his contract extension, stating that he would be the team's long-term third baseman. (The 28-year-old, by the way, has nine years remaining on his current contract.) "Different people here, right? There is a different leader here. (Former chief baseball officer) Chaim (Bloom) is in St. Louis right now."
- The Red Sox keep referencing the commitment to putting the best team on the field, and their undeniable best defensive team is with Bregman at third base, where he was working out with Trevor Story and Marcelo Mayer (shortstop), Vaughn Grissom (second base) and Triston Casas (first base) during Monday morning's workout.
- The Red Sox are back in business, chaos and all.
As Cora expertly weaved his way through all the questions about Devers, the maybe third baseman/maybe DH/maybe first baseman strolled out of the complex with Brayan Bello on a path just 30 feet or so from the bench. He didn't seem all that worried about what was being said, and the manager certainly offered the image that he had everything under control.
Conversation and controversy. It has always been a hallmark of some of the Red Sox' best teams. Have they had it throughout these last few playoff-free, apathy-filled seasons?
"No."
Exactly.