It’s no secret Rafael Devers is All-Star Game bound once again. But after the first returns, he was trailing Jose Ramirez in the voting as the American League’s starting third baseman. After Thursday, the job is unofficially Devers’.
First off, MLB revealed on Thursday Devers has comfortably overtaken Ramirez in the voting. For good measure, Devers gave one last push in the first game of the Yankees series.
The Red Sox lost 6-5, but that was not at all due to a lack of effort from their third baseman. He went 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs, driving in all of Boston’s five runs in the process. And it’s worth noting both of those home runs came against an All Star pitcher in Gerrit Cole — who Devers has now taken deep six times in his career.
Heading into the weekend, Devers now has three more home runs than Ramirez and the same number of doubles — 27, which leads the league. Not to mention, Devers entered the Yankees series hitting .327 with a .962 OPS. Both numbers are superior to Ramirez’s (.285 and .940).
Cleveland’s third baseman has earned a spot in the All-Star Game, but it would be absurd if he started over Devers. With the starters set to be announced on Friday, Devers seems to have the starting job locked up for the second time in as many seasons.
