The band-aid was officially ripped off for Boston Red Sox fans on Friday night. Less than one week after the shocking trade that saw the Red Sox deal Rafael Devers to the Giants, the two teams opened a three-game series against each other in San Francisco.
While the Red Sox have been taking hits throughout the week for their handling of Devers and the trade, they kept their former superstar hitless. Devers went 0-for-5 with a strikeout.
Friday's game was far from the final chapter of the story detailing Devers' breakup with the Red Sox organization. That story seems to have taken another twist as Red Sox legend David Ortiz took to Instagram on Friday with what was a pretty direct swipe at Devers.
Despite Ortiz originally having the perception of being Devers' mentor during his early years with the Red Sox, he has wasted no time in siding with the organization over what went down. Ortiz's Instagram story came a few days after he was critical of Devers' communication skills. It's become clear that since the trade, for Ortiz, nothing is more important than the Red Sox organization, and he is toting the company line.
Rafael Devers just got blindsided by a David Ortiz post fans didn’t expect
Ortiz praising the Red Sox as being the "best organization in baseball" comes at a time when the team's front office is getting shredded by nearly every insider and fan. Look no further than Jeff Passan pointing a finger at the Red Sox for how the divorce with Devers became so complicated.
There's also hypocrisy with Ortiz's latest takedown of Devers. When Devers refused to play first base when asked during the season, Ortiz defended the stance. However, now, with Devers no longer in Boston, Ortiz stresses that you can't just be a hitter when playing for the Red Sox; you have to be the full package. An interesting choice of words from someone who quite literally made the Hall of Fame because of quite literally being "just a hitter' for the Red Sox.
It's become clear that the Red Sox are looking to smear Devers in any way they can. And, if we're being honest, Ortiz's inclusion in the process just feels every bit as lazy as Craig Breslow's weird defense of the team's AI's tactics.