Rafael Devers's discontentment with the Boston Red Sox front office began in the spring, when the club asked him to move from third base to designated hitter in the wake of signing Alex Bregman. Devers acquiesced, and things seemed to be in a better place until May. The club again asked him to take up a new position, first base, following the season-ending injury to Triston Casas.
And as it turns out, the Red Sox' second ask of Devers wasn't the only thing that apparently upset the star slugger before his surprising trade to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. Red Sox rookie Kristian Campbell, who has spent most of his time at second base, apparently volunteered to play first base following the injury to Casas, a move that upset Devers, sources told Joon Lee of Yahoo! Sports.
According to Lee, Devers took Campbell's offer not as a team-first move by a young player, but as a "slight to his own stature."
In a series of public comments in which he was openly critical of the Red Sox front office, Devers in May had this to say about Boston's Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow.
"I just feel like it's not an appropriate decision by them to ask me to play another position," Devers said at the time. "It was the GM that I spoke with. I'm not sure what he has with me. He played ball and I would like to think he knows that changing positions like that isn't easy."
Some veteran Red Sox players reportedly took exception to the way that Devers handled the situation publicly. Clearly, a disconnect between Devers and the front office played a role in the surprising trade. But it seems that there was also a disconnect between Devers and the Red Sox players.
More MLB on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Report: Red Sox Rookie's Offer to Play First Base Upset Rafael Devers Before Trade.
