Red Sox DH Rafael Devers’ bat does the talking with 440-foot nuke

Conversation around the Boston Red Sox this week has been about their franchise player’s defensive position, or lack thereof. Rafael Devers was asked by the Red Sox brass to be the DH in spring training, but they asked him to move to first base before this weekend’s series with the Royals. With Tristan Casas out for the season, Boston needs a first baseman. But Devers refused to move after he lost the third-base role to Alex Bregman. Instead of letting that story define the weekend, Devers has raked against the Royals.

Devers hit this absolute nuke off Royals’ starter Seth Lugo to give the Red Sox a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning. After dropping a set to the Twins, the Sox needed a bounce-back on the road this weekend. They got it, partly thanks to Devers. He went one-for-five in their 12-inning loss on Friday, but turned it up after that. He went four-for-four with a run scored and three RBIs in their Saturday win and hit this homer on Sunday.

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The Red Sox broke camp with Devers at DH and Bregman at third, hoping their offense would flourish with these two in the middle. But Devers was miserable to start the year, with a five-game hitless streak to start the year and one homer through his first 21 games. Coming into Sunday, he had a 1.021 OPS in his last 21 games.

Casas’ injury will be tough for the Red Sox to overcome on both sides of the ball. If Masataka Yoshida cannot play first and Devers refuses, they may need to go out and find one. General manager Craig Breslow shut down the idea of taking one of their elite prospects and moving them to first, whether that be outfielder Roman Anthony or shortstop Marcelo Mayer. If Devers continues to hit like this, Boston will find a first baseman somewhere.


Christopher Hennessy is an MLB associate editor at ClutchPoints, with additional expertise in the NHL and golf. He graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022, and he has work experience at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders reporter.

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