Entering Friday, Devers hasn’t hit a home run since Aug. 25.
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Rafael Devers is in the middle of perhaps the worst slump of his MLB career.
He went 0-for-11 with eight strikeouts in three games against the Tampa Bay Rays this week, contributing to a dismal September for the Red Sox star. Devers is batting .183 this month, accumulating just one extra-base hit over 17 games.
The 27-year-old hasn’t hit a home run since Aug. 25, and has only collected one extra-base hit in September.
Manager Alex Cora discussed Devers’s struggles ahead of Boston’s series against the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park this weekend. He said he’s concerned about Devers’s lack of production, but he’s hopeful the hitter can figure it out with nine regular season games remaining.
“I’ve never seen anything like this … He’s one click away from squaring one up,” Cora said, per The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. “My biggest concern or whatever, he’s not driving the ball to left-center … That tells me mechanically something is off.
“He’s our guy, and it hasn’t happened. … Hopefully it happens today and he gets hot.”
This weekend’s series with the Twins was supposed to be a big one for the Red Sox. Not too long ago, both clubs were vying for the third and final American League wild card spot. Entering Friday, Boston is 4 games back of the spot; meanwhile, the Twins and Detroit Tigers are tied.
While these games may not mean much for the Red Sox’ low playoff hopes (0.7 percent chance to make the postseason, according to FanGraphs), individual players like Devers can use these games to get his swing right.
As Cora mentioned, the left-handed hitter hasn’t been going opposite field amid his cold stretch at the plate. Devers consistently drives balls into left field when he looks like himself at the plate, and he simply hasn’t looked like himself in some time.
The third baseman has struck out 18 times this month and has drawn just eight walks since the calendar’s turn. Devers has accumulated 10 singles and a measly three runs as Boston’s playoffs hopes have quickly faded.
He’s also made his fair share of errors this year, committing 12 for a .959 fielding percentage.
Devers has endured a lingering shoulder injury dating back to spring training, but told Cora that’s “no longer an issue,” according to Speier. The slugger has been seen in visible pain after swings several times this season, but it sounds like something else is contributing to his offensive struggles.
Depending on how this series plays out for the Red Sox, and how Devers performs, the team could choose to shut him down for the rest of the month.
