When Rafael Devers was traded from the Boston Red Sox to the San Francisco Giants, emotions were decidedly mixed among Red Sox fans. That wasn’t the case for Giants fans, though, as the team literally rolled out the red carpet for him.
Times have changed. On the field, Devers has struggled to live up to his contract. Worse than that, though, concerns about the type of teammate he is have popped up again. The latest came in an incident where he refused to come out of a game for a pinch runner, creating an awkward situation at best, and has put the Giants firmly in the spotlight.
Things are so bad in San Francisco right now that Mark Willard, a radio host who was critical of Red Sox fans following the Devers trade, issued an apology. He now believes that Boston fans critical of Devers were right.
“I want to apologize to the city of Boston,” Willard said. “You were right. The whole weekend was embarrassing, and the Giants know it. They are a national story when they’re 15 games under .500.”
Not every Red Sox fan was happy to see Devers go. However, things had gotten tense. In particular, with the addition of Alex Bregman and lack of communication about Devers being moved off third base. Ultimately, the decision was to move Devers to DH. Then when an injury to Triston Casas led to the Red Sox asking Devers to play first base, he refused, clearly frustrated with how being moved out of the field went.
On the way out of Boston, Devers was largely seen as a toxic player in the locker room because of that. Clearly, those concerns are now following him to San Francisco.
Former Boston Red Sox Manager Alex Cora Made a Cryptic Post About Rafael Devers
Shortly after the incident where Rafael Devers refused to leave the field for a pinch runner, his former Boston Red Sox manager, Alex Cora, took to social media. There, Cora made a cryptic post that could have been about anything, but was almost certainly about Devers.
“But, but…” Cora wrote, along with a zipped mouth emoji.
Cora is no longer with the Red Sox, having been fired in April. At the time, there were immediate reports that there had been plenty of infighting within the Red Sox organization, particularly between the coaching staff and the front office.
It would seem like the concerns go beyond that, though. In particular, that the dysfunction within the Red Sox organization is still being felt over the Devers saga.
Sportscaster Rips Rafael Devers Over Attitude
The Rafael Devers drama broke contain on the Giants. Across the country, analysts were jumping in to get their criticisms in on Devers. That included New York sportscaster Adam Schein, who ripped the slugger.
“Speaking of embarrassments, how about Rafael Devers? Looks like he might be one of the worst teammates on Earth… San Francisco, they go to pinch run for him. And [he] says…no? Devers gives them the Dikembe Mutumbo, not on my watch. Are you kidding me? How bad of a teammate could you be,” Schein said.
“I mean, Tony Vitello, say what you want about him. I understand that a lot of these players look at a guy who comes through the collegiate ranks, and they don’t have respect. What a joke!!! The Giants are 15 games under .500. They’re an unwatchable, unmitigated disaster. You can blame Devers, you can blame Vitello. You can blame Buster Posey; that’s where I would start, first and foremost… I mean, that is as losing a culture as you can have right now in San Francisco.”
Recent reports indicate that the Giants are open for business on trades. In particular, moving on from Devers. However, given his recent outburst, it’s hard to imagine moving his contract.
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