Rafael Devers began the 2025 season on a dreadful 0-for-19 streak at the plate. The Boston Red Sox's best bats took quite a while to warm up to the regular season, but Devers' slow start broke records.
Devers gave fans a brief glimpse at his old self during Boston's series against the Orioles at Camden Yards and the Cardinals and Blue Jays at Fenway Park, but the designated hitter is back to looking lost at the plate. Devers hasn't recorded a hit since April 19, and he was completely stymied by the Mariners' pitchers, in particular.
Devers' offensive decline has been puzzling. The slugger posted a great season at the plate and his best year defensively in 2024, with a .272/.354/.516 slash line, .870 OPS and 28 homers while battling two injured shoulders. Scans of Devers' shoulders taken after the season showed no structural damage, but he's still swinging like there's something wrong.
One of the most glaring changes in Devers' game is that he's missing fastballs. The vast majority of pitches he's seen this year have been fastballs — he's seen 339 of them compared to 112 breaking balls and 52 offspeed pitches — and he's slashing just .179/.216/.321 against them with 22 strikeouts. In 2024, he batted .266/.254/.518 with 92 strikeouts against 1,485 fastballs.
Rafael Devers is back in his slump and hasn't recorded a hit in the Red Sox's last five games
.@markdero7 takes a deep dive into Rafael Devers and his early-season struggles. pic.twitter.com/nt31ZGfYDo
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) March 31, 2025
Devers' whiff rate has also increased since 2024. He ranks in the third percentile in whiff percentage compared to the 14th percentile in 2024 and the 45th percentile in 2023.
When Devers does make contact, he hits the ball well. Nine of his 15 hits have gone for extra bases — he's collected seven doubles and two homers — and he ranks in the 99th percentile in average exit velocity, the 97th percentile in barrel percentage, and the 100th percentile in barrel percentage. Devers also walks more than ever, and he leads the American League with 21 free passes and ranks in the 96th percentile.
The Red Sox need to diagnose Devers' issue soon. The Red Sox noted that he had timing issues during spring training, but he still hasn't been able to get ahead of the ball. Devers' lack of spring training could be part of his problem — he missed out on spring training games to take at-bats against Red Sox pitchers, which could be coming back to hurt him when it matters.
Jarren Duran, Devers and Alex Bregman should be a deadly top of the order for Boston. The transition from third baseman to DH can't be easy, but Devers doesn't even look like the same player during his slumps.