Rafael Devers appears to be a changed man following his trade from the Boston Red Sox to the San Francisco Giants.
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After months of drama in Boston regarding his defensive position, in his introductory press conference as a member of the Giants, Devers made it known he will play wherever the teams asks him to defensively.
“I’m here to play wherever they want me to play,” Devers said Tuesday.
Devers and the Red Sox were at the center of tons of drama ever since Boston signed third baseman Alex Bregman in free agency.
After signing Bregman, Devers was asked if he would move off of third base.
“Third base is my position,” Devers said in February. “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 ended up begrudgingly moving to the designated hitter position, where he’d play the rest of his Red Sox tenure. However, when first baseman Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury, Devers became a viable solution to take over.
Or so the Red Sox thought.
“They had the conversation with me,” Devers said in May. “I don’t think, for me personally, it’s the best decision after they asked me to play a different position. And I only had two months playing this position to all of a sudden have me try to play another position. So, from my end, it doesn’t seem like a good decision.”
He added, “I know I’m a ballplayer, but at the same time, they can’t expect me to play every single position out there. In spring training, they talked to me and basically told me to put away my glove and I wasn’t going to play any other position but DH.”
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At that point, it became clear that the relationship between Devers and the Red Sox was irreparable. When Boston was able to find a deal with San Francisco — who took on the remainder of Devers’ around $250 million contract — they moved off of him.
With the Giants already having a Gold Glove third baseman in Matt Chapman, there were questions surrounding where Devers would suit up.
He said he would start taking grounders at first base to play there and be the designated hitter in San Francisco.
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