Red Sox CEO peels back curtain on ‘clear, candid' message of Rafael Devers meeting
Rafael Devers not wanting to move to first base prompted Red Sox team owner John Henry, president/CEO Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow to fly to Kansas City earlier this month to meet with the designated hitter.
The ask came after Triston Casas suffered a season-ending ruptured patellar tendon, but also came after the Red Sox moved Devers to DH from third base — the position he played for his entire career.
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Kennedy, during an appearance on WEEI's 'The Greg Hill Show,' was asked about the trip and revealed it was Henry's idea to go out there. And while the CEO said he'll keep the conversations that were internal, he peeled back the curtain a little bit.
'It was a very clear, candid message about our expectations, about our commitment to winning,' Kennedy said. 'And it was a really good visit. And I'm glad we did it. It was a very important point in the season, albeit early. We have an extreme sense of urgency over the last couple decades around winning, and I just wanted to express that message to players. And we had several good conversations.'
Questions at first base still remain, though. After struggling to begin the season, Devers has found a groove as the designated hitter. Conversations will still happen with Devers, but it's unclear if he'll change his mind about the position.
Kristian Campbell, meanwhile, has taken ground balls at first base. There's no timeline when he'll see game action there, though.
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'We don't want to lose him just because he's learning a new position,' manager Alex Cora said.
'On a scale of 10, probably two and a half, three, you know?,' he later added. 'We'll try to get to 10 as soon as possible, but we're being smart about it.'
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