Rafael Devers has no issue playing first base for the San Francisco Giants after refusing to consider it for the Boston Red Sox, and he explained why on Friday.
Devers made a very big deal about not wanting to play first for the Red Sox after Triston Casas suffered a season-ending injury in May. Upon being traded to San Francisco, however, Devers made it clear he would play wherever the Giants asked him to play, including first base.
On Friday, Devers explained that he had not necessarily had a change of heart. He simply felt disrespected by the Red Sox and how they handled the decision to move him off first base.
“I put up some good numbers in Boston, and I feel like I earned some respect,” Devers said through an interpreter, via Jesse Rogers of ESPN. “If they would have asked me at the beginning of spring training, yes, I would have played [first].”
Some may doubt whether Devers is telling the truth. During the offseason, he said that he did not want to move from third base, but ultimately did so and took to becoming a designated hitter after the team signed Alex Bregman. He was not happy that the Red Sox asked him to make another change after Casas went down for the season.
Tension between Devers and the Red Sox seemingly existed even before the first base issue came up. That just exacerbated it, and may have been the last straw. The implication seems to be that things will be just fine as long as the Giants are upfront with him.
