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The Boston Red Sox have seen a surge from their franchise slugger, but it hasn't come without some drama.
After setting an early-season record for the most strikeouts in the first four games of a season, Rafael Devers has turned it around to land on a .278/.395/.473 slash line for the year with an American League leading 33 walks and seven homers.
But Devers' presence in the locker room hasn't been as positive as his presence at the plate.
After moving Devers into a designated hitter role shortly before the season started, the Red Sox asked him to try first base as a substitute for Triston Casas, who went down with a season-ending injury. Devers avoided the media for a time and then unloaded on the team's request, publicly criticizing the front office.
"They told me that I was going to be playing this position, DH, and now they're going back on that," Devers said, per ESPN. "So I just don't think they stayed true to their word."
Following those comments, team president Sam Kennedy, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and owner John Henry flew to meet the team in Kansas City so that Henry could have a meeting with Devers.
In a recent column for The Boston Globe, Dan Shaughnessy lauded that decision by Henry, but also noted that it might have been motivated by some fear of litigation.
"We've been waiting for signs that Henry cares about his baseball team the way he cared in his first decade of ownership," Shaughnessy wrote. "Henry's visit to KC is a good sign, even if it's just a case of Henry protecting the club should this dustup wind up with Devers ultimately filing a grievance through the players association."
The Major League Baseball Players Association offers a grievance process for players who feel that an agreement between themselves and their team has been violated. If Devers feels like the Red Sox unduly pressured him to risk injury with their second position change request, he could opt to pursue a grievance hearing.
It's not clear what was said between Henry and Devers during their sit down, but it seems the Red Sox have backed off of their request.
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