How Rafael Devers drama could have been avoided

Yahoo

12-05-2025

How Rafael Devers drama could have been avoided | Baseball Bar-B-Cast
During Yahoo Sports' 'Baseball Bar-B-Cast' podcast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman are joined by former outfielder and current TV analyst Ryan Spilborghs to discuss the disgruntled Red Sox designated hitter. Catch Ryan on 'Friday Night Baseball' coverage on Apple TV+, where fans can enjoy two marquee matchups every week.
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Video Transcript
We are now very excited to welcome in one of our good friends in this here baseball media industry.
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You can see him on Apple TV plus this Friday night baseball.
He played baseball for the Colorado Rockies for quite some time, and he is our friend.
His name is Ryan Spielberg.
Spiy, welcome to baseball, Robert Cas.
Hi guys.
Yeah, sorry, I don't have my makeup on, a little bit of a red eye flight last night.
We're not going to talk about playing etiquette, um, but we are going to talk about etiquette.
On this segment here with Ryan Spielbergs, as the biggest news in the baseball world was that Rafael Devers spoke to the media and said, no thank you, I do not want to play first base.
Now, what do you make of this entire situation?
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It was preventable.
I think this was really poorly communicated from the front office to Davors to begin with.
For a player like Devs.
Where the metrics defensively, there's no argument, you cannot argue that you're a plus defender.
You're not.
He's the bottom of baseball at third base in outs above average, defensive run saved, every single defensive metric, the eye test, like everything.
There, there isn't one that says, you know what, you should continue to play third base.
This to me was a front office that that didn't tell him early, right?
It should have been at the end of the year when the season was over.
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Before Alex Bregman rumors, before anything.
Raffi, we're gonna start, we want you to train this offseason, working at first base.
We want you to be a little bit more mobile here.
This is where we want you to grow comfortable.
We understand we have trusting Costa here too, but you have a massive contract.
We want you to be able to have this in your bag.
The manager has to keep the room.
If the manager says, you don't need your glove anymore, let's just focus on the DH, um, that's his word.
He told him.
He sat in an office with him and was like, listen, let's, let's not worry about it this year.
You're our DH just go, go ahead, figure this thing out.
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Now you're, you're asking the manager to go back on it, which that's part of like creating a, a chemistry and an environment of the team.
And if you break that, you start, I mean, Dever starts talking, right?
Turns into this like negative cancer in the clubhouse.
Well, what is Korra gonna do here?
Korra is, is principle based.
He is gonna stick it, if, if he thinks this is the best way to do it, he communicates it and then that's, that's what happens.
So you can't come in for the front office to go, hey, we need him to come play first base.
No.
I think Alex Cora is a huge part of this this too, because you just mentioned that that could be part of the breakdown, but what is so compelling about this whole narrative, and this goes back to the offseason too, is there seems to be a lack of alignment just between Breslow and Cora.
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Cora has thus far stood up for Ray said, no, he is my.
He is, this is, I'm not gonna think about.
He even said before all this stuff came out from off yesterday, he said it would be unfair to ask him to do that.
That seems to be a reflection of Cora being on the same page and understanding what his player wants.
For now, uh, Spily, we appreciate your perspective.
You can watch Billy on Apple TV plus Friday Night Baseball.
Definitely check that out.
Um, but otherwise, uh, thank you, thank you, Mr. Spielbergs.
I think this was, this was pretty fun.