Rafael Devers unleashes on Red Sox brass, plus Pittsburgh's stark reality

New York Times

09-05-2025

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Rafael Devers said the quiet part (very) out loud, Max Fried has been (somehow) even better with the Yankees, and Derek Shelton has taken the fall in Pittsburgh for ownership's shortcomings.
I'm Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup!
😬: Devers drama thickens
Literally two days ago in this very space, here's what I had to say about the fact that Rafael Devers wouldn't be playing first base for the Red Sox:
'To be fair, that's not quite the full-chest 'no way' we got from Devers this spring. It's also not an offer to do it. All we know is: It's not happening.'
One thing journalists attempt to do is — no matter how much it might seem a player feels one way or another — always try to give them the benefit of the doubt.
But the benefit evaporates when the doubt ceases to exist. And whewwww boy, when Devers was done speaking to the media yesterday, there was not an ounce of uncertainty left in the room. You can read all of the quotes in Jen McCaffrey's story here, but here are the big ones:
The thing is, the Red Sox do have another bat. It's just that — as we outlined a couple days ago — his name is Masataka Yoshida, he's recovering from a shoulder injury and he's capable of hitting, but can't throw without pain right now. Sounds like a prime DH candidate to me.
And look — Devers, 28, is right about one thing: It's not easy to learn a new position! Not even first base! (Some might even say it's incredibly hard.)
But it's the big leagues. What part of it has ever been easy?
From my latest notes column:
It's almost as if Max Fried is a different pitcher. By design.
What impressed Yankees coach Matt Blake most about the left-hander, from the first time they spoke via Zoom during free agency, was his openness to new ideas.
The number of adjustments the Yankees suggested to Fried might be perceived as excessive for a successful pitcher joining a new organization on an eight-year, $218 million contract. But Fried, according to Blake, essentially said, 'Keep going. What do you got? Keep giving it to me.'
The Yankees gave Fried the information. Fried, 31, implemented it to maximum effect. And his 1.05 ERA, best in the majors, represents Fried's best eight-start stretch in a single season.
Fried throws seven pitches in all, and Blake said he has improved many of them on the margins.
For insight into how he has changed, I asked The Athletic's Eno Sarris what he sees in the data. And man, Eno had plenty to offer:
'Obviously, Atlanta has got a really strong pitching program. But they go about it in a little more traditional way,' Blake said, referring to Fried's former club.
'He just was interested in exploring some of the data and tech that is available now. That's what we've leaned in towards. Just really understanding how the pitches are moving, why they're moving, what his body is doing to make those pitchers move.
'Combined with what he learned in Atlanta — the game-skill component, understanding hitters, reading swings, understanding how to turn lineups over multiple times — he's going as deep into the game as anybody right now. Just knowing how he's going to navigate seven pitches three times through the lineup, sometimes four.'
More notes here.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are 12-26. I'm not sure (former) manager Derek Shelton is the reason why, but he's the one who took the fall — the team dismissed Shelton and promoted Don Kelly yesterday.
A few notes on what Pittsburgh did to put Shelton and the team in a position to succeed (all numbers from Spotrac):
That's just $111.43 million, all in one-year deals — equal to about one Anthony Santander five-year deal and a Patrick Sandoval two-year deal — since Shelton took the job before the 2020 season.
One might argue: They have some great young talent in Paul Skenes, Bryan Reynolds, Oneil Cruz and others. Isn't this a team on its way up?
Great. That was true last year, too. What have they done to supplement that talent? Where's the track record to suggest they're going to start now?
One might argue: The Pirates' situation illustrates a growing problem of income imbalance between the big-market and small-market teams.
We can talk later about how baseball has always been the best metaphor for life, but for now: Since the last time the Pirates made the postseason (2015) the Brewers have been to the playoffs six times. The Rays, five. The Twins, four. The A's — who left Oakland after last season — and Padres have gone three times. The Marlins, twice. The Reds, Mariners and Royals, once each.
The Rockies — the Colorado Rockies — have gone to the playoffs twice since the Pirates' last appearance.
Operating in a small market only gets you so much leeway.
The only team with a postseason drought longer than the Pirates (nine years): the Angels (10). If you look around a list and the only other inhabitants are the Angels, you should make it an urgent goal to get off that list.
It would seem they have this in common with the Angels, too: Owner Bob Nutting — who can't easily fire himself — hasn't put anyone in the organization in a position to succeed.
As for Kelly, the team announcement did not include the word 'interim' when describing his role. GM Ben Cherington addressed it thusly:
'It's permanent for 2025. We're focused on 2025 and not getting past 2025. Because it became clear that it's permanent for 2025, we chose not to use any other words to describe it. I have a lot of confidence in him doing that job for 2025.'
So it's a (nearly) one-year deal? Color me shocked.
Tyler Kepner's 'Sliders' column focuses on Tony Gwynn, who would have been 65 years old today.
Jayson Stark has two Weird and Wild columns this week. The first delves into the Royals-Orioles homer-fest (and so much more), and the second focuses on the hapless Rockies, who might set a really futile record.
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The new pope is from Chicago, which prompted a lot of speculation on his baseball fandom. He's a White Sox fan, obviously — since when has a Cardinal ever rooted for the Cubs?
Speaking of the Chicago Pope, Jon Greenberg caught up with the original: Donn Pall.
Speaking of the Cardinals: This was meant to be a rebuild season, but they're winning more games than expected. Could they rebuild and win?
Aaaand speaking of the Cubs, they're calling up top pitching prospect Cade Horton, a former top-10 draft pick.
The Twins haven't been great this year, but their pitching has been good enough to suggest a turnaround is possible, says Aaron Gleeman.
Looking to buy low on some fantasy baseball hitters? Eno Sarris has some suggestions.
Jim Bowden gives us his 10 biggest disappointments of the season so far.
On the pods: The 'Rates & Barrels' crew discussed changes Roki Sasaki could make to take a step forward as his first season with the Dodgers unfolds.
Chet Lemon, member of the champion 1984 Tigers, has died at 70 years old.
Most-clicked in our last newsletter: Keith Law's first 2025 mock draft.
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