[Pelican]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Thanks to the commentary on the game that I am watching, I am just getting caught up to the latest chapter of the Rafael Devers story. (If somebody mentioned this earlier in the thread, I apologize.)

Recall that Devers, who really is not a good third baseman, was asked to move to DH when the Red Sox acquired Alex Bregman. Initially, he refused and made a public fuss about it. Some deal was made, because he later relented.

Well, last month, Triston Casas ruptured his tendon and was pronounced out for the season. The club, in the person of chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, came to Devers and asked him to fill in at first base.

Now, you would think that Devers would be anxious to get back on the field if it was so important to him, yes? Uh, no. Devers refused and, incredibly, was angry that Breslow asked him the question at all.

In the first place, Devers is not a great player. In the second place, even if he was Babe Ruth, Grover Cleveland Alexander, and Shohei Ohtani combined, I wouldn't want him on my team. Talk about selfish. I wonder what his "teammates" think of him.

Devers tells Red Sox he won't play first, upset they asked him to move

But you see? That's why I couldn't work in baseball ops. For, I would release that bag of stuff. Whereupon, some other team that cares not for such matters would sign him immediately, acquiesce to his demand to play third base badly, and he would be rewarded with a doubled salary.

Moreover, there would be hundreds of Facebook pages demanding my firing, if not my execution, for letting Devers go, no matter how bad he was for the team. Only if I won the World Series that same year would I keep my job for a while.

Most takes combine the two issues (Bregman and Casas), but they are different. Bregman was self-inflicted and could have been avoided, or at least ameliorated. Modern players with fragile egos need to be "consulted" on changes, and "asked" to change position, for the good of the team. [Cue Joe McCarthy spinning in his grave.] The Crimson Hose should have seen that and done that in advance of the Bregman deal. But the Casas injury could not have been predicted. The GM and Manager were stuck with bad choices, through no fault of their own (unless you want to argue they should have had a "long bench" of 1B waiting, which is not fair). Boston had to make do with what they had. Devers was a natural choice. He played 3B. He can play 1B. Not well; but adequate. For him to link the two situations ("you're asking me again") was wrong. For him to whine was wrong. For the Red Sox to trade him was sweet.