Over a month after the Boston Red Sox traded him to the San Francisco Giants organization, Rafael Devers on July 22 made his debut at first base.
Devers' first night in his new position went smoothly. He posted an error-free performance and even showed up offensively with two hits, including a double and an RBI single. Devers was batting just .219 with a .667 OPS from June 16- July 21 after joining the Giants. Taking the field may have had something to do with the breaking of his slump.
“It keeps me active. It keeps my head out of just thinking about the next at-bat...I’d rather be on the field than in the cage hitting all the time and thinking about the next at-bat,” Devers said after the game, per Shayna Rubin of The San Francisco Chronicle.
The Giants kicked a six-game losing skid on July 22 with a commanding 9-0 victory over the Braves. It feels like the Red Sox have played multiple seasons since Devers left — in the immediate wake of the trade, their offense was a disaster, but cruised into the All-Star break on a 10-game winning streak.
Weeks after trade from Red Sox, Rafael Devers debuted at first base on July 22 for Giants
It took a while for him to debut, but Devers said he was willing to play first base for the Giants, which was a point of contention between him and the Red Sox. The friction didn't end with Boston — San Francisco wanted Devers to begin taking reps at first base when the Red Sox came to town from June 20-22, but he refused to take up his new position in front of his old team.
Both sides have taken their fair share of blame in the events leading up to the Devers trade. Craig Breslow deceived Devers about the Red Sox's offseason plans to sign a replacement for the star at third base, and Devers remained entirely unwilling to move forward. Boston asked Devers to play first base after Triston Casas' season-ending injury, to no avail.
Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro have met expectations on both sides of the ball in Devers' stead, but the Red Sox could've had a long-term answer at the corner if they communicated well over the winter. Devers could have also been the bigger person and moved positions for the sake of his teammates. Unfortunately, the conflict ended in the Red Sox losing yet another star player, and his move to first base makes the move feel more "complete" than before.