Rafael Devers debuts with Giants at DH, happy to do so: 'I am here to play wherever they want me to play'

Rafael Devers is officially a San Francisco Giant. And he doesn’t care where on the field he plays.

The Giants introduced their new star slugger on Tuesday, two days after acquiring Devers in a trade from the Boston Red Sox. The deal took place after a public falling out in Boston in which the Red Sox removed Devers from his longtime position at third base and put him at designated hitter.

Devers isn’t projected to play at third in San Francisco, either. That job belongs to five-time Gold Glove winner Matt Chapman. But Devers isn’t worried about it. He was the designated hitter for his Giants debut against the Cleveland Guardians, a game the team lost 3-2 at Oracle Park, on Tuesday.

Here’s what he had to say on the subject at his introductory news conference.

“I’m here to give my 100%,” Devers said through his interpreter. “I don’t put any buts. They’re the men in charge.

“I am here to play wherever they want me to play.”

Devers went 2-for-5 in the loss with an RBI double in the third inning.

He struck out swinging in his first at-bat of the night, but he received a very warm welcome from Giants fans before doing so.

Third-base fallout in Boston

Had Devers provided the same answer to the same question in Boston, he might still be a member of the Red Sox. Instead, he’s taking a new approach with his new team that acquired him to compete in a loaded NL West.

Before joining the Giants, Devers played his entire eight-plus season MLB career with the Red Sox. He’s a four-time All-Star who very well could earn his fifth selection this season. He was the last remaining player on the roster from Boston’s 2018 World Series championship team.

But the relationship between Devers and the Red Sox grew strained this winter after Boston acquired third baseman Alex Bregman in free agency. That signing presented the Red Sox with an obvious baseball decision.

Bregman is a Gold Glove third baseman. Devers, by multiple advanced metrics, is one of the worst third basemen in the sport. The obvious move was to place Bregman at third and move Devers — an All-Star slugger — to designated hitter.

But Devers made clear in no uncertain terms during spring training that he had zero desire to cede third base to Bregman.

“Third base is my position,” Devers said in February, per MLB.com. “It’s what I’ve played. I don’t know what their plans are. I know we had a conversation. I made it clear, kind of what my desires were, and whatever happens from here, I don’t know.”

Devers then responded “no” when asked if he was open to playing designated hitter.

Rafael Devers debuts with Giants at DH, happy to do so: 'I am here to play wherever they want me to play' — Rafael Devers is slated to start his Giants career as San Francisco’s designated hitter. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Ultimately, Red Sox manager Alex Cora made the proper baseball decision, and Bregman took over at third. Devers, the veteran leader of the clubhouse, was moved to designated hitter against his wishes.

Devers might not have been happy with the move. But he continued to perform, with a .272/.401/.504 slash line with 15 home runs and 58 RBI through 73 games. Then came Sunday’s stunning news. A Red Sox team in the midst of a five-game winning streak and in the thick of the AL playoff race dealt Devers to the Giants.

Why did the Red Sox trade Devers?

Despite his dissatisfaction, Devers reportedly did not demand a trade. It added up to a stunning decision by the Red Sox that prompted questions Monday for chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and CEO Sam Kennedy.

“We worked at it, we had a different vision for him going forward than he had,” Kennedy told reporters during the news conference. “We couldn’t get there, what we felt we needed from him that would be in the best interest of the ball club.

Breslow floated the idea that trading Devers for pitchers Jordan Hicks (4.23 career ERA) and Kyle Harrison (4.48 career ERA) and some minor leaguers would make the Red Sox better this season.

“I do think there’s a real chance that at the end of the season, we’re looking back, and we’ve won more games than we otherwise would have,” he said.

As for whether Devers requested a trade, Breslow said this:

“There were times during the course of conversations with Raffy’s camp where they had indicated that perhaps a fresh start would be best for both sides,” Breslow said. “And we were committed to trying to work through this.”

Whatever the reason, the Red Sox are moving into a new era focused on rookie slugger Roman Anthony and other top prospects. With Devers in San Francisco, the Red Sox are off the hook for the remaining eight-plus years of his 10-year, $313.5 million contract.