On Saturday, Red Sox (35-36) designated hitter Rafael Devers was seen laughing and having a good time pregame while fielding grounders at shortstop - a now normal occurrence before most games at Fenway Park.
With so much being made this year about Devers and his fielding glove, this has continued to raise eyebrows and questions for media and fans alike.
“What do you make of Raffy taking ground balls around short and left field occasionally?” asked MassLive’s Sean McAdam of manager Alex Cora ahead of his team’s game against the Yankees (42-26).
“Part of his conditioning program,” Cora said with a laugh before diving into a real answer.
“Just move around. He didn't do it there for a while, there were a few things going on. And now that he's feeling good, just go out there and take grounders. But that doesn't mean - but moving around, you know, I think it's good. And the fact that he's throwing, that's important, too. Obviously, if something happens, we gotta get this going. So I'm happy that he's out there moving and feeling good.”
“In an emergency situation, if everything else goes sideways, could you put him in the field right now?” asked MassLive’s Chris Cotillo.
“No,” Cora said flatly.
The saga around Devers and playing the field began during spring training, when the 28-year-old was vocal about his displeasure with being asked to move from third base to designated hitter with the addition of All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman in free agency. Eventually he relented, and he was in the opening day lineup at the position David Ortiz made iconic in Boston.
Devers was far from icon status to start the season, going a historically bad 0-19 to start the year at the plate with 15 strikeouts. This prompted both fans and media to wonder if Devers was the type of player that needs to play in the field to stay engaged in the game, wondering if the DH experiment was already a bust before April was even close to over.
Boston, MA - June 4: Boston Red Sox designated hitter Rafael Devers sits at first base after being checked and called safe in the eighth inning at Fenway Park on June 4, 2025.Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
But then, it all clicked for Devers at the plate, settling into his new role and quickly becoming the best designated hitter in the American League. He’s up to 14 home runs, 57 runs batted in, a .907 OPS and a batting average of .275. His on base percentage is .405 and his slugging percentage is .502.
Even with Devers “figuring it out” as a DH, the calls for him to get back in the field have been loud and frequent, as a season-ending injury to Triston Casas left a void at first and an extended stay on the injured list for Bregman left a void at third.
He wanted to stay in the field so badly that he made a stink about it. So both of these situations meant opportunities for him to get back to doing what he wanted to do during spring training…right?
Wrong.
Devers baulked publicly at the idea of playing either position, with the situation getting to a point where owner John Henry had to fly to Kansas City during a road series with the Royals to help defuse the situation between Devers and the coaching staff/front office.
Although things have quieted in recent weeks around this topic, these appearances from Devers at short during pregame warmups invite the questions to come back.
If he’s going to stay loose and get the blood flowing pregame, why not do so at either third or first?
It’s all a bit odd.
“I know we do ask about this every couple weeks, but the whole Raffy positional thing - [are] conversations still ongoing?” asked Cotillo later in the press conference.
“We talk, but he's my DH,” said Cora.
“So that topic of conversation has pretty much ended?” Cotillo followed up.
“Like I said - we talk, but he’s my DH.” said Cora. “Let’s leave it at that.”
“Would you expect that for the rest of the season?” asked Cotillo.
“Yes,” said Cora, as flatly as his “no” from earlier in the presser.
It’s the topic that just won’t go away, and neither the team nor the player is doing themselves any favors in the way of killing the story.
In the meantime, the Red Sox will attempt to win their fourth straight game on Saturday. A win would also mean victories in seven of their last nine games, would get the team back to .500, and would be a third consecutive series win for a team that’s in the midst of a stretch of 15 straight games against teams with winning records.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 13: Rafael Devers #11 of the Boston Red Sox hits a single in the eighth inning against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on June 13, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts.Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images
Hunter Dobbins (3-1, 4.20 ERA) will be on the mound for Boston, with Carlos Rondon (8-4, 2.87 ERA) on the bump for New York.
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