Rafael Devers hit his first home run with the San Francisco Giants on Saturday. Adding a footnote — or a punctuation mark — to the saga of being traded by the Boston Red Sox last Sunday, the homer came against his former team.
Devers hit the homer in the third inning, smacking a 96 mph fastball left out over the plate by Brayan Bello to the opposite field. The ball came off Devers’ bat at 105.5 mph, according to Statcast, giving it plenty of fuel to go over the left-field wall at Oracle Park. The two-run shot gave the Giants a 3-0 lead.
At the very least, Devers hitting a homer against the Red Sox would appear to be some affirmation for him after being portrayed as the bad guy in his dispute with the team over reluctantly moving from third base to designated hitter and later refusing to play first base while criticizing Boston’s front office.
Before Devers took Bello deep on Saturday, the scenario of facing his former team so soon after being traded looked as if it might lack the drama many craved. He batted 0-for-5 on Friday in his first game against Boston. Giants manager Bob Melvin said that Devers would not play first base without getting more practice at the position.
Devers expressing a willingness to play first base in San Francisco raised eyebrows, as did his assertion that he earned respect due to his production for Boston over eight-plus seasons. Red Sox executives Sam Kennedy and Craig Breslow trying to justify the trade by saying they “could not find alignment” with Devers indicated that the relationship had soured.
However, it’s also clear that both sides want to move on from this now, based on Red Sox manager Alex Cora’s remarks after being asked if he would “clear the air” with Devers since the two were in the same ballpark this weekend.
“Clear the air about what? It’s a trade. It’s baseball. It’s a business. That’s how it works,” Cora told 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,” he added. “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.”
Devers hitting his 16th homer of the season, his first as a National League player, may have helped turn that page.
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