In the days between Rafael Devers’s trade from the Red Sox on Sunday to his first game against his former team on Friday, several reports emerged detailing how the split happened.
Most of the reports indicated that Devers’s relationship with the Red Sox broke down after the team asked him to move positions on multiple occasions, and his failure to comply willingly.
However, as Devers’s tenure in Boston didn’t end on the best of terms, Alex Cora doesn’t believe he needs to clear the air with the team’s former star during the Red Sox’ weekend series against Devers’s new team.
“Clear the air about what? It’s a trade. It’s baseball. It’s a business. That’s how it works,” the Red Sox manager told reporters prior to their 7-5 win over the Giants on Friday. “It’s not the first guy that’s gotten traded. It’s not the last guy. People have their opinions about the whole thing.
“Communication, first base, DH, third base, the manager, the GM, the owner, whatever. It’s a baseball trade. From my end, I turn the page.”
The Red Sox have done a strong job at turning the page in the days after the shocking move to trade Devers, winning three of their first four games on a nine-game West Coast road trip. But the aftermath of the trade and the behind-the-scenes reports about how the deal went down have overshadowed Boston’s hot play as of late.
One of those reports shared that Cora even “supported” the move to ship Devers out (according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan). Some might view that as a bit of a surprise as Cora had been a public supporter of Devers throughout the drama in his final months with the team, calling him the Red Sox’ designated hitter a day before the trade.
"He's going to do everything possible to kick our ass, and we're going to do everything possible to do the same."
Red Sox manager Alex Cora anticipates an "awkward" reunion as Rafael Devers faces his former team 😅
While Cora reportedly supported the move and is looking to turn the page, he did admit that losing Devers is a tough loss for the Red Sox’ lineup.
“There’s a lot of stuff that Raffy did for us that we’re going to miss, and we’re very proud of him,” Cora said. “So to face him here, it’s going to be different from my end.”
Cora also suggested that the divorce between the Red Sox and Devers wasn’t personal.
“Nothing in this business is personal. That’s something that throughout the years I always tell them,” Cora said. “We agree on a lot of stuff; we disagree on others.
“Xander Bogaerts is in San Diego, it’s not personal. Mookie Betts is in LA, it’s not personal. Raffy Devers is with the Giants, it’s not personal.”
With Alex Bregman out of the lineup due to a right quad strain, there isn’t anyone in the Red Sox’ lineup who has Devers’s upside as a hitter. Before getting traded, Devers was arguably one of the best few left-handed hitters in baseball this season, hitting .272 with a .905 OPS, 15 home runs, and 58 RBIs in 73 games with the Red Sox.
Boston didn’t miss Devers on Friday, though. The Red Sox had their best offensive showing in nearly two weeks, while Devers went 0-for-5 at the plate in his first game against his old team. His final at-bat was a strikeout in the ninth inning, whiffing at Aroldis Chapman’s fastball as he tried to help the Giants get the game-tying run at the plate.
Friday was just the Red Sox’ first of three battles against Devers. A win on Saturday or Sunday will give them their fifth straight series win and their sixth series win out of seven.
If they’re able to do that, it might mark the Red Sox’ most impressive series win this season. Beyond the drama with Devers, the Giants have been one of the best teams in the National League this season at 42-34, while the Red Sox are balancing a thin lineup due to the trade and injuries.
Of course, the drama with Devers will continue to overshadow everything else that happens in the series. The fact that the Red Sox are playing him so soon after the trade is a bit unusual as well, especially considering it’s an interleague matchup.
Cora shared that it felt “weird” to be playing Devers so soon after the trade, but he’s still a fan of his and wishes him the best.
“That’s the business,” Cora said. “It’s tough just to see them, but they’re good players, they’re good people. I’ll always root for them, except the weekend that we’re playing.”
