If there is an authoritative voice in the Boston Red Sox universe, it is David Ortiz. ‘Big Papi’, a Fenway Park legend, commands respect and lays all his cards on the table when he talks about the team he loves, with whom he won three World Series titles during his playing days
And with full knowledge of the inner workings of the team, the Dominican has made clear his stance on all the controversy surrounding Rafael Devers, the Red Sox’s great offensive star, who was removed from his position as the team’s third baseman after the winter signing of Alex Bregman
“We asked him to be a full-time designated hitter. I remember that conversation”
“We asked him to be the full-time designated hitter. I remember that conversation in spring training,” said ‘Big Papi’ from Quisqueya in reference to the decision made by the ninth to hand over the starting third base job to Bregman instead of Devers, who was asked to focus solely on offensive duties
The 28-year-old reluctantly accepted and did not seem too happy with the decision at the start of the season, especially when he saw that Bregman made some mistakes at third base. The whole situation affected him considerably, to the point that he did not get a single hit in his first 19 at-bats
Although it was difficult for him to get out of the slump, Devers proved his caliber and is already the leader in RBIs (53) in Major League Baseball. However, he is still in the eye of the storm, because the Red Sox have spent several weeks exploring the possibility of placing him at first base after the injury to Triston Casas, their starting first baseman
On the subject, David Ortiz has been blunt: “Once the Casas problem happened, in people’s minds it was like, ‘Devers goes to first base and Masataka Yoshida to designated hitter and we’re a better team‘. Yes, that’s what you imagine. But you know what? In spring training, they asked him to just hit and now, all of a sudden, you want to change it. It takes time.”
‘Big Papi’ avoided being categorical and suggested that Devers does not have to accept the move to first base. “I’ll say this, if Devers wants to practice at first base and wants to play defense again, it’s his responsibility,” said the Cooperstown Hall of Famer
So far, manager Alex Cora has avoided playing Devers on defense, not even at third base, despite the fact that Alex Bregman has been injured for more than a week and that position has been occupied by several players. The tension in the team has been palpable, as they have won only two of their last 10 games and have fallen to fourth place in the American League East.
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