Roughly a week after the Rafael Devers trade went down, Red Sox manager Alex Cora is still fielding questions about the franchise choosing to ship away its homegrown star—and he doesn't sound too happy about it.
Devers faced his former team for the first time Friday night, going 0 for 5 at the plate in the San Francisco Giants' 7-5 loss. The former Red Sox slugger did hit a drive to the left-field wall in the third inning, but his ex-teammate Ceddane Rafaela robbed him of the extra-base hit.
After the Red Sox's win, Cora was asked whether he needed to clear the air regarding the Devers trade, given all the reports that have come out of the woodwork about the perceived rift between Devers and the Red Sox organization.
Cora didn't seem at all interested in doing so, and echoed his previous sentiments about "turning the page" in the post-Devers era.
"Clear the air about what? It’s a trade. It’s baseball. It’s a business. That’s how it works," Cora said, via ESPN's Jesse Rogers. "It's not the first guy that’s gotten traded. It’s not the last guy. People have their opinions about the whole thing. Communication, first base, DH, third base, the manager, the GM, the owner, whatever. It’s a baseball trade. From my end, I turn the page.”
It certainly seems like Cora has grown tired of discussing his former player, despite how shocking the trade was at the time. In the days following the move, several reports detailed Devers's months-long dispute with the Red Sox stemming from his very public unwillingness to change positions.
Devers surprisingly admitted he would be okay with playing first base upon his arrival in San Francisco and gave a simple justification for his new flexible mindset with the Giants. "I am here to play wherever they want me to play," Devers said, via a translator.
Some bitter Red Sox fans might not have liked hearing Devers's answer, but as far as Cora is concerned, the page is officially turned, and that chapter of the Red Sox is now over.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Alex Cora Sounded Tired of Answering Rafael Devers Questions After Win vs. Giants.
