Rafael Devers Has Been Unstoppable After Doing What He Wouldn’t Do In Boston

Rafael Devers essentially pushed his way out of Boston by refusing to play first base. Even after the Red Sox lost their starting first baseman, Triston Casas, to a season-ending injury, Devers refused to move back to playing the infield.

The Red Sox, understandably, lost patience with what they felt was a selfish attitude, and dealt him to the San Francisco Giants.

After coming to San Francisco, Devers has continued as the team's designated hitter, and been a bit underwhelming at the plate. Just two homers in 30 games, a .227 batting average, .345 slugging percentage, and over 30% strikeout rate.

Except this week, Devers officially made the move to first base for the Giants, seeing his first game action in the field since the trade. Sure enough, he's immediately exploded.

Jun 20, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers (16) waits to bat against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

Rafael Devers Goes Off In Atlanta After Position Switch

Devers on Tuesday played his first game of 2025 in the field against the Atlanta Braves and immediately went 2 for 5 with two runs scored and an RBI.

Then Wednesday, he went nuts. After just two homers in his first 30 games with the Giants, Devers hit two more against the Braves. Including an extremely impressive homer off Spencer Strider.

Then in the sixth inning, Devers launched one to deep right center field to double the Giants lead to 6-0.

Is this a coincidence? Almost certainly. Still though, Devers did say that he does prefer playing the field to waiting in the dugout between at-bats, saying that the activity on defense keeps him engaged in the game. 

"It keeps me active, and it keeps my head out of just thinking of the next at-bat," Devers told the media after Tuesday's game. "I’m the kind of player who likes to be active and likes to be on the field. I’d rather be on the field than be in the cage hitting all the time."

For Boston fans though, this raises questions as to why Devers wouldn't play first for the Red Sox. If he's happier playing the field, even though he did explain he had some nerves at a new position, why wouldn't he help out the team that drafted and developed him?

The obvious answer is that the Red Sox front office and coaching staff completely mishandled him on a personal level. That has to be frustrating, seeing a generational player leave because of miscommunication. If this move to first works out, it'll be even tougher for fans to take.