KANSAS CITY, Mo. — That John Henry, flanked by Sam Kennedy and Craig Breslow, made an impromptu trip to Kauffman Stadium to sit down with Rafael Devers was no small thing. It was a clear sign that the Red Sox are taking their rift with their star player seriously — and it wasn’t a coincidence Breslow repeatedly emphasized the importance of being a good teammate when explaining what necessitated the meeting.
What transpired Friday afternoon in the visiting manager’s office represented more of an expectations-setting exercise than anything in the way of a solution. So the question remains: what‘s next?
The answer, at least in the immediate aftermath Friday, was “TBD.” Devers was not in a talking mood after Boston’s 2-1, 12-inning loss to the Royals, saying when approached for comment that he had already talked a day earlier. True, but things had changed since then. Henry declined comment in the Red Sox dugout before the game, saying simply, “I don’t want to talk.”
He did want to talk to Devers, though, but it‘s unclear if the owner (or manager Alex Cora, for that matter) explicitly told Devers that he will eventually be playing first base. For now, the manager said, the answer remains no.
“That‘s not the plan right now,” said Cora when asked if Devers would start taking grounders at first base. “The plan is to keep having conversations.”
One week and one day after Triston Casas suffered a gruesome season-ending knee injury at Fenway Park, the Red Sox are still answering the vacancy the same way they did when it first happened. Utility men Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro are making up a platoon at the position, though another wrinkle might be thrown into that plan if Gonzalez has to be placed on the injured list Saturday, three days after he, too, collided when an opposing first baseman. Nick Sogard seems like the likely choice to be called up in that case, but either way, the Red Sox have not made an external addition at the position and have not (successfully) been able to implement a creative internal plan. Until something changes, expect to see the likes of Gonzalez (hitting .308 with a .785 OPS in the majors), Toro (just 2-for-14 since being called up) and Sogard (18 innings at first this season) or maybe even Vaughn Grissom.
Still, though, it‘s clear the Red Sox think Devers is the long-term solution. The sooner he starts taking grounders at the position, the sooner he might be able to play it in a game. There’s no timeline for that yet. Tensions need to cool a bit first. And somewhat fascinatingly, Breslow repeatedly — and adamantly — said Friday afternoon that where Devers would be playing is not nearly as important as making sure the sides were on better terms.
“That is secondary to the other conversations,” Breslow said. “That decision was never going to be made in a couch in an office in Kansas City. That conversation is ongoing.
“I don’t want to spend too much time on that,” he added, answering a later question about Devers at first. “I don’t think it’s the most important takeaway here. But he’s a guy with, obviously, significant experience at a corner infield position. We feel like it would be a transition others have made and we think he can make. I recognize it’s not that simple. These aren’t the types of moves that can be made overnight. The initial conversation Raffy and I had was of an exploratory nature.”
The first step, whether over the weekend in Kansas City or at a later date in the not-too-distant future, will be an honest conversation between Devers and Breslow, who is the clear source of the slugger’s frustration. Devers didn’t pull punches talking about the chief baseball officer Thursday and it’s clear there’s some hashing out to do.
“That will probably be evident based on the conversation,” Breslow said. “I am anchored to acting in the best interest in the organization. That‘s the obligation I have and that‘s not going to change. If there are opportunities for me to communicate more clearly and more frequently, I would want that feedback and I would want to honor it. In terms of this situation, my sense is we are going to focus on what‘s most important. That‘s winning games.
“Raffy was clearly frustrated with the situation. My reaction was, potentially there was some misunderstanding on the communication or an opportunity to more clearly provide communication.”
Cora’s role in the entire saga remains a bit nebulous. It was striking that Breslow, and not the manager, was the one who made the initial request to Devers. It was also notable Cora, before the public knew that Devers had been asked to move to first, adamantly said he preferred to keep him at designated hitter. That could have been an age-old attempt to protect a player or a real take from someone who usually has great feel for managing personalities. On Friday,
“We have conversations about everything,” Cora said. “This isn’t just a conversation that just happened (behind) my back. We had conversations about it. This is the way the organization feels. There was one conversation about that and we’re going to keep having those.
“There were a few things I agree (with, that Devers said). There’s others I respected. I’ve been saying all along, when the mic is in front of you, be you. He was very transparent on how he felt about it. You don’t have to agree with it but you respect that.
“The most important thing here is we’re trying to accomplish something big here. Obviously, there’s changes in the roster, situations that happen and you have to adjust. Or you have to adjust again.”
Veteran leader Trevor Story vowed Friday to have conversations with Devers about switching, and discussions like that will naturally take place over the next five days in Kansas City and Detroit. Breslow said decisions as big as the one the Red Sox and Devers face don’t just happen overnight. It’s clear the timeframe will be even longer.
“Let‘s not jump to conclusions … right now, it‘s going to be Romy and Toro,” Cora said.
“Right now, we’re just talking about a possible change of position. This is where we’re at right now. We lost our first baseman. We’re exploring every way to improve.”
