Red Sox: Boston’s caution with Rafael Devers’ sore back is a wise move

Rafael Devers is set to miss another night for the Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox will be without their All-Star third baseman for another night as Rafael Devers is still dealing with a sore back. It’s something that the slugger has been dealing with and despite a heavy stretch in the schedule, it was time to give him a rest before it got any worse. Though he won’t be starting tonight, Alex Cora did say he was eligible to pinch-hit if necessary, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. 

As much as I want to see Raffy play night in and night out, I’d much rather have him healthy when the postseason hits the calendar. If that means he has to miss a few, granted significant, divisional games in July then so be it. The All-Star break is still a ways away and we will absolutely need him for the road games against Tampa and New York next week. Missing a few games right now may be the price the Red Sox must pay for him to be rocking in October.

We all know how important Devers is to this offense and on a regular basis, he’s the one that’s getting things cooking in the batter’s box. Boston has a strong enough lineup that they can withstand not having him for a few nights but would need some serious help if it’s beyond that. We also know how quickly a tweak of the back can sideline a power hitter not just in the current but future. We can’t afford to lose him in 2022 and he can’t afford to have a bad back come contract discussion time.

As mentioned above, AC does have him on the bench in case a pinch-hit opportunity does arise and if the game is close enough I don{t see him hesitating for an at-bat or two late in the contest. Cora did also point out that he was going to take it a bit easier with Raffy on the basepaths and won’t be having him try to swipe any bags anytime soon. Limiting the exciting star may bum some fans out but at the end of the day this is all about winning championships and they won’t be able to do that without him swinging.

“He’s available to pinch-hit today,” Cora said. “He was fighting it down there. We’ve got to be smart about it. I think the running game is going to slow down for a little bit now, the stolen base attempts.”

Before sitting out last night’s loss against the Rays, our young third baseman had been on an insane tear and had been crushing the baseball. Since July 1st, Devers owns a .316/.316/.368 line with a double and an RBI.

One alarming thing, and that may be a bit dramatic, is the fact that he hasn’t hit a homer since June 24th, and before the Fourth of July, hadn’t had an RBI since June 26th. Whether it’s bad timing with runners on base or just not coming through when we’re used to seeing him do so, his output in those areas has suffered.

Even with some of those droughts, Devers is still leading all of MLB in Hits (104) and is tops in the American League in Doubles (27) and Total Bases (184). All three of which are contributing to his surging All-Star campaign that has him currently leading José Ramírez with two days left in the voting. It’s estimated that he’ll return to the lineup tomorrow for the first game of the Yankee series and the Red Sox will more than need him to outduel New York’s offense.

Rafael Devers is having another one of those seasons where you just have to tilt your head in astonishment. He continues to get better at the plate with every passing season and now he’s also adding in a much-improved defense at third base. While it sucks to not have him for a pair of very important games I’d rather he rest up and get his mind and body ready for the second half. The Red Sox will need Raffy at 100% to make any sort of run at the postseason and missing a few games here and there may be what gets that accomplished.