In the aftermath of the Boston Red Sox’ stunning Rafael Devers trade, there have been several accounts of what led to the veteran slugger’s untimely departure. Among them was a bombshell Yahoo Sports report from Joon Lee, who detailed the dysfunction at 4 Jersey Street.
There were several revelations in Lee’s report, including chief baseball officer Craig Breslow firing a longtime scouting supervisor for calling him a “f—ing stiff” during a Zoom meeting. Lee also explained how Devers’ frustration with the club’s poor communication ultimately led to him being sent to the San Francisco Giants.
In May, Devers publicly called out Breslow for asking him to replace the injured Triston Casas as Boston’s primary first baseman. The club eventually turned to rookie second baseman Kristian Campbell to take practice reps at first base, and according to Lee, Devers’ took issue with Campbell “volunteering” to play the position.
“According to multiple sources, Devers was also upset when the rookie Campbell volunteered to play first base this season — interpreting it as a slight to his own stature,” Lee wrote.
Campbell, who was optioned to Triple-A Worcester on Friday, refuted that report and praised his ex-teammate.
“That was false,” Campbell told reporters Friday at Polar Park, via MassLive’s Katie Morrison-Day. “First off, Raffy never came to me, never had a problem with it. We were always cool. He’s an extremely great player, extremely great person. He’s a very kind person and a good teammate.
“Second, I would say I never went to the Red Sox to play first base. They came to me and asked me if I could play first base because we didn’t have one at the time. That’s when Casas went down, and I said I would do it because it would make the team better and I would be willing to learn the position. That was basically how it went down.”
While he often worked out at first base after Casas’ injury, Campbell never ended up playing the position in a game for Boston. The Red Sox instead have primarily gone with the combination of hot-hitting Abraham Toro and Romy Gonzalez.
Campbell will get some playing time at first base as he aims to get back on track in Worcester. He’ll also play second and center field, but he told reporters that first base will be “the priority.”
As for Devers, the three-time All-Star said he is open to playing anywhere for San Francisco. He has already practiced at first base, though he won’t play the position when the Red Sox visit Oracle Park for a three-game series starting Friday night.
