Ex-Red Sox, Royals All-Star Backs Rafael Devers Amid 1st Base Drama In Boston
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As the Kansas City Royals get ready for their weekend series with the Boston Red Sox, the eyes of the sport are collectively focused on Rafael Devers.
The last time the Royals saw Devers, he was the Red Sox's three-time All-Star third baseman. That changed in February when Boston signed Gold Glover Alex Bregman and eventually moved Devers to designated hitter.
Then, Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury and Devers was asked to change positions again to cover the suddenly vacant infield corner. The 28-year-old slugger lit up the front office, and specifically chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, for that request in his postgame media availability on Thursday.
Amid all the drama currently going on in Boston, a former Royals slugger and current baseball media personality chipped in his two cents.
On Thursday evening, Eric Hosmer took to X (formerly Twitter) to show support for Devers' refusal to take on a new position in the middle of the season.
"Let em know carita," Hosmer said, invoking Devers' nickname.
Hosmer and Devers were briefly teammates in 2022, when the former arrived in Boston in a trade deadline swap with the San Diego Padres. He only played 14 games in Boston, then 31 in 2023 with the Chicago Cubs before eventually transitioning to a media career.
Devers might be a distraction this weekend at Kauffman Stadium, which works out well for the Royals, who are absolutely rolling. They've won 15 of their last 17 games, and they're now 15-5 on the season at home.
But at the same time, when Devers is in the box, Royals pitchers, starting with Michael Lorenzen on Friday night, will need to be careful. Part of how we ended up in this situation is that Devers is very, very good at hitting the baseball.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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