Rafael Devers Split Was Just What Red Sox Fan-Favorite Needed

The Red Sox could have a fan-favorite back sooner than expected...

Mar 17, 2025; North Port, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox hats on the stairs to the dugout before the start of the game between the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox during spring training at CoolToday Park. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox shocked the baseball world with the team's trade of Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants.

It was a wild day on Sunday and the fallout has been intense as well. Reports have popped up left and right about what has been going on behind the scenes. Clearly, things weren't great. But, now the Red Sox can have a fresh start.

Moving on from Devers also can be exactly what one Red Sox fan-favorite needs. Masataka Yoshida hasn't seen any action yet this season as he has recovered from offseason shoulder surgery. The team made it clear that they wanted Yoshida to be throwing at 100 percent and ready to play in the oufield before Boston sent him on a minor league rehab assignment and eventually brought him to Boston.

Devers occupying the DH spot made it nearly impossible for there to be any time for Yoshida in Boston. That isn't the case any longer. Manager Alex Cora shared on Tuesday that the Red Sox are going to look into how they can "speed up the process" to get Yoshida up to Boston now, as transcribed by MLB.com's Ian Browne.

"We’re going to meet tonight or tomorrow to go over a few things, and let's see if we can speed up the process," Cora said. "We know that he can swing the bat. Now, it's a matter of him getting at bats (on a rehab assignment) and all that, but at the same time respecting the rehab on the shoulder. So we'll decide that sooner rather than later, and we'll go from there."

Losing Devers' bat hurts, but getting a guy like Yoshida back in the mix could help make things a little easier.

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