Former Royals All-Star Weighs In On Red Sox-Rafael Devers Controversy

You won't see Kansas City caught up in such a hot-button debate this year

Aug 6, 2019; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers (11) safe slides into second before the tag of Kansas City Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield (15) during the third inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Royals were glad to see the Boston Red Sox leave town at the end of this past weekend, but they'll still be watching curiously as the hot-button controversy dominating Major League Baseball unfolds.

Boston designated hitter Rafael Devers is publicly resisting a move to first base, after the team already made him give up third base this spring in deference to Alex Bregman. Devers very publicly lambasted chief baseball officer Craig Breslow last week for asking him to make the switch.

Devers then came to Kauffman Stadium and laid waste to Royals pitching all weekend, winning himself American League Player of the Week honors in the process. But the drama isn't dying down just yet, and one former Royals star is now offering his opinion on the subject.

On Monday, former three-time American League All-Star Whit Merrifield, who played for the Royals from 2016 to 2022, gave his take on the Devers situation, generally siding with the Red Sox for asking their slugger to make the switch given that he's already been paid.

"From a player's perspective, I think it's fair that they asked Raffy," Merrifield said on the "Foul Territory" show. "Raffy's been paid, he's going to make his money now... if this is a guy who's going through arbitration or coming up on free agency... and it's going to be used against him when he's trying to negotiate a contract, that's messed up."

"I get that he's not comfortable over there and doesn't want to go and try do do it in the middle of the season and embarrass himself... and get criticized for that, but when you make the money he's making, it just kind of comes with that territory."

Devers got a 10-year, $313.5 million contract from Boston before the 2023 season, and he's hitting like he absolutely deserves that money. It's $25 million more than the Royals have ever given out, and that Bobby Witt Jr. extension was an obvious exception to their frugal ways.

The Royals should be grateful that for all the woes that come with being a small-market team from time to time, they at least don't have to deal with the nuances of asking a player making as much as Devers is to give up his preferred spot

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