Rafael Devers was sidelined for two of the Boston Red Sox's games against the Seattle Mariners. His presence was sorely missed in the largely unproductive batting order.
The third baseman was scratched from the March 29 action between the Sox and the Mariners due to shoulder soreness. Devers kicked off Boston's season with its first home run just the day before, which only added to the concern of Red Sox fans when news of his injury dropped.
After the March 29 game, Boston's first without Devers, manager Alex Cora explained that sidelining Devers was merely a precaution. He arrived at warm-ups with soreness and there's a lot of baseball season left, so the Sox decided it wasn't worth the risk to play him.
Devers had a hot spring for the Red Sox which featured five home runs — the face of the franchise missing any time is not ideal, especially when he's expected to be the biggest presence at the plate.
Devers also had to miss out on the March 30 game, though, and even after Cora's statement, nerves mounted for Sox fans. Boston's injured list had been long leading up to the start of the season, and the returns of Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen mitigated concerns slightly. But losing Devers to the IL would likely mean a rough start to the season for the Red Sox, with backups logging everyday reps in the infield in Enmanuel Valdez and Bobby Dalbec or Pablo Reyes.
Rafael Devers' injury revelation has Red Sox fans concerned even after his return
The Red Sox aren't really a team that can afford any bad news right now, and it looks like they've avoided it with Rafael Devers.https://t.co/cyipyJoV4x
— NESN (@NESN) March 31, 2024
Boston lost both of its games without Devers in the lineup and it was starved for production at the plate against Seattle's top-tier pitching staff. When he returned to the roster on the 31st, Devers singed off the second pitch he saw from Bryce Miller, essentially telling fans he was good to go.
The third baseman admitted that the pain in his shoulder began in Fort Myers and that he played through it during spring training. He finally decided to say something when the hurt worsened after the season began, which is an oversight by all. He should not have been playing during spring training if this was the case, and now fans have this in the back of their minds when they thought Devers would be the lone positive constant in 2024.
For now, Devers is back in Boston's lineup and his time away from the game was nothing more than a precaution. If he really is healthy, he should be back to hitting homers in no time, and a series in Oakland would be a good place to start his upswing.