It’s too early to panic over Rafael Devers’ slow start. But it’s not too early to be concerned about the Red Sox superstar — and the circumstances surrounding him.
Devers went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Texas Rangers. The wretched performance left him 0-for-12 with 10 strikeouts over Boston’s first three games. In fact, Devers’ 10 strikeouts are the most for any player in the first three games of a season in Major League Baseball history.
Of course, Devers isn’t just going through struggles at the plate. He also is adapting to life as a full-time designated hitter, a change forced on him by the Red Sox and one that reportedly caused him to mull a trade request during spring training. Moreover, Boston has zero plans of reversing course, as manager Alex Cora said that Romy Gonzalez, not Devers, will be the primary backup third baseman behind Alex Bregman.
Cora offered his thoughts on Devers’ struggles following Saturday’s loss.
“It’s just a matter of timing, start driving the ball to left-center,” Cora said of Devers, who also earned a walk that drove in a run. “It didn’t happen (Saturday). The walk was good, we take that as a positive, but he’s not there yet.”
Cora added that Devers will play in Sunday’s series finale in Texas. The Red Sox then will travel to Baltimore for Monday’s series opener against the Orioles before enjoying their first off day on Tuesday.
Ultimately, it’s hard to know how to feel about Devers’ struggles. Are they due to missing so much time in spring training, or to not being able to find a rhythm without playing defense? Perhaps it’s a combination of the two, with a dash of palpable frustration.
Regardless, Devers’ situation will continue to be a major storyline until he shows signs of life at the plate. These things have a way of working themselves out, but right now, nothing is going right for the Red Sox’s best and highest-paid player.
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