Rafael Devers has channeled his inner David Ortiz with his recent performance as the Boston Red Sox’ designated hitter, though he has yet to emulate the Hall of Famer in the field.
Ortiz played 278 games as a first baseman in his illustrious 20-year career. Devers, on the other hand, called out the Red Sox front office after being asked to move from DH to first in the wake of Triston Casas’ season-ending injury.
The difference is that Devers already reluctantly moved from third base to DH before the season. The three-time All-Star took issue with the team asking him to return to the infield after telling him to put his glove away.
How would Ortiz have approached Devers’ situation? Speaking at his charity golf event — the David Ortiz Soiree of Hearts — on Monday, Big Papi weighed in on Devers’ refusal to play first base.
“If I was him, I would have put myself available for anything, but that was me,” Ortiz said. “He was a third baseman that was asked to be a DH. Now, all of a sudden, you want him to play first base. You have to give him some time to learn, if he wants to, because he’s doing great as the DH. I don’t want to mess that up. I mean, you’re leading the league in RBIs. …
“So, we cannot just crush a guy every time we feel like. We need to know that he is an important piece for this organization. He is doing what he was asked (to do). But yeah, I think he should just think about what’s better for the organization, him at first or him at DH, and go from there. But we have to give him some time.”
At this point, it would be wise to leave Devers alone. He entered Monday slashing .286/.408/.515 with 12 homers and an MLB-leading 52 RBI in 61 games. His plate discipline has significantly improved as he leads the American League with 47 walks.
Plus, first base has been in good hands as of late with Abraham Toro. The under-the-radar offseason signing has recently provided a spark at the plate and is hitting .310 with three homers in 18 games.
Boston gained another first base option on Monday with Romy Gonzalez’s activation from the injured list. Rookie second baseman Kristian Campbell has taken practice reps at first base and was scheduled to make his first career start at the position on Sunday, but manager Alex Cora opted to keep Toro’s bat in the lineup.
As for Devers, it’s unlikely he’ll be asked to put on a glove again this season. It’s worth noting, however, that he took grounders (at shortstop, for some reason) before Monday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Angels.
