David Ortiz Says Leave Red Sox Dh Rafael Devers Alone On Decision To

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 18, 2025, 4:13 AM

david ortiz says leave red sox dh rafael devers alone on decision to

Boston Red Sox’s Rafael Devers watches his two-RBI single during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps) Boston Red Sox’s Rafael Devers looks on during the third inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Monday, May 26, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash) Boston Red Sox’s Rafael Devers hits a two run RBI double during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

NEWTON, Mass. (AP) — The Boston Red Sox should just leave designated hitter Rafael Devers alone and let him decide if he wants to start playing first base, Hall of Famer David Ortiz told The Associated... The Red Sox signed Alex Bregman to a $120-million, three-year contract in spring training and told Devers he was going to be the fulltime DH. Over five months after the Boston Red Sox shockingly sent All-Star slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants, you can count Hall of Famer David Ortiz among those still unsure if the Red... Boston dealt Devers, the face of the franchise and one of the sport’s premier hitters, to the Giants in mid-June for pitchers Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks, as well as minor-league pitcher Jose Bello... The Red Sox later traded Tibbs, the No.

13 pick in 2024, to the Los Angeles Dodgers for veteran pitcher Dustin May. The Devers trade came over two years after signing an 11-year, $331 million contract extension that would have kept him in Boston through 2033. However, Devers notably refused to move to DH or first base following Alex Bregman’s arrival last spring, though the nine-year vet eventually gave in and spent his final weeks in Boston as a full-time... “Unfortunately, things didn’t work for the organization to be on the right track,” Ortiz told the “ITM Podcast” last week. And unfortunately, sometimes you have to make those moves. I don’t argue that with the owners.

They are the boss. They are the ones who ask you how much you want on your contract. They agreed [on extending Devers]. “But remember, you are an employee,” Ortiz continued. “You’re not a boss. There are not two bosses.

There’s just one. John Henry.” One of the biggest storylines leading up to the MLB trade deadline was the fractured relationship between the Boston Red Sox organization and Rafael Devers. The situation was messy from start to finish, largely due to Devers feeling misled by the team. “Devers, according to a person familiar with his thinking, felt 'lied to and betrayed' by the Red Sox. Cora, long one of Devers' chief supporters and advocates, supported his expulsion.

Craig Breslow, the Red Sox's chief baseball officer whom Devers publicly badmouthed amid the hostility, played hatchet man,” MLB’s Jeff Passan wrote. As a result, Devers was ultimately traded before the deadline. He landed in the Bay Area, joining the San Francisco Giants. “The Red Sox had just pulled off a three-game sweep of the rival Yankees for their seventh win in the last eight games and were getting ready for a Sunday night West Coast trip... Star slugger Rafael Devers, the lone remaining player from the team’s most recent World Series title squad of 2018, was dealt to the Giants for righty Jordan Hicks, lefty Kyle Harrison and a pair... 4 prospect at the time of the deal) and righty Jose Bello,” MLB.com’s Ian Browne wrote.

During an interview on the ITM Podcast, David Ortiz shared his honest thoughts on the Devers trade. The Boston Red Sox’s 2025 campaign was hectic to say the least. Despite trading away their best hitter, Rafael Devers, midway through the season, the Sox still managed to find their way to the playoffs. Looking back at that trade months later, the legendary David Ortiz has mixed feelings on Boston’s decision to cut bait with Devers. While Ortiz and Devers never played together in the majors, the former served as a mentor to the latter during his rise through the Red Sox’s farm system. For much of his career, it seemed like Devers was set to become the heir apparent to Ortiz as the team’s superstar designated hitter.

Devers wasn’t happy when he was moved to designated hitter before the start of the 2025 season, though, and with tensions boiling, the front office eventually decided to send him to the San Francisco... Ortiz admitted that you never want to lose a hitter with Devers, but he agreed with the team deciding to do what it felt like was best for the organization “You don’t want to let go of a batter like him,” Ortiz told Joey Copponi and Scott Neville on the “ITM Podcast” on Friday. “My thing with the situation is that I would expect a guy like Raffy to be one of the faces of this organization … Raffy is a good kid. Don’t get that caught up in the confusion. And that’s what bothers me most … We’re dealing with a good kid.

Unfortunately, things didn’t work for the organization … Sometimes you have to make those moves. I don’t argue that with the owners … They are the ones who ask you how much you want on your contract. They agreed (to Devers’ contract). But remember, you are an employee. You’re not a boss. There are not two bosses.

There’s just one. John Henry.” The Boston Red Sox and their fans expected Rafael Devers to develop into one of the greatest designated hitters in baseball — something they're used to having on the roster. Devers was well on his way there, with 500 extra-base hits and home run power to spare. But David Ortiz will live on as the greatest DH in the Red Sox organization. Ortiz has been something of a mentor to Devers throughout his career.

The Hall of Famer didn't mince words when he revealed his opinion on the Red Sox's June 15 trade that sent the face of their franchise to the San Francisco Giants. "Players need to take this as an example, nobody is indispensable," Ortiz said, per Yancen Pujols. "You need to be smart and understand the situation. Your worst enemy is your ego." Ortiz has made similar comments about the Devers position change debacle in the past, and said, if it were him, he'd do whatever was necessary to help the team win. He did do that during his career — Ortiz was a full-time DH, but he appeared at first base in 19 of his 20 big league seasons for a total of 278 games at...

David Ortiz says Rafael Devers' ego was what ruined his relationship with the Red Sox pic.twitter.com/L0DRQHLOt6 NEWTON, Mass. — The Boston Red Sox should just leave designated hitter Rafael Devers alone and let him decide if he wants to start playing first base, Hall of Famer David Ortiz told The Associated Press. The Red Sox signed Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120-million contract in spring training and told Devers he was going to be the fulltime DH. That was, until first baseman Triston Casas was lost for the season after rupturing a tendon in his left knee and undergoing surgery in early May. Speaking at his charity golf tournament — the David Ortiz Soiree of Hearts — the former Red Sox slugger said any move should be up to Devers.

“He’s doing great as the DH. They asked for it, and he’s doing great as the DH,” Ortiz said. “Once (the) Casas situation goes down … In people’s minds, it was: ‘Devers goes to first and (Masataka) Yoshida goes to DH and we are a better team’. Yeah, that’s what you put in your mind. But guess what? The kid was asked in a spring training to just hit and now all of a sudden you want to switch him over.

It takes time.” The curtain may have fallen on the Rafael Devers Red Sox era, but the hum of his leaving still lingers through Fenway’s hallowed halls. And now, the voice from the Red Sox royalty has been heard—David Ortiz, a Boston great with 483 career home runs. Recently, he made a biting comment that goes right to the heart of the nasty divorce. Rafael Devers didn’t get moved because his bat was cold. In fact, it was on fire, hitting .271/.400/.494 with 55 walks, the most in the AL.

Boston’s story wasn’t about home runs; it was about positional drama. And after a crazy shuffle, the Red Sox made a trade move that got everyone talking. Now that Ortiz has chimed in, the tale has gotten even better. Just when you thought things were finally settling, the “Big Papi” just hit a homer in his style. On Friday, Ortiz shared a pic on his Instagram story with his number 34, with a caption that caught everyone’s attention. “Best organization in baseball.

The thing is that to have some[one] like this at Boston you have to just not be a hitter, you have to be the full package all the way around player … go Sox.”... David Ortiz’s IG story. Wow 😳😳 pic.twitter.com/3MIpQ7iaWw David Ortiz has never turned his head from sharing his thoughts on this drama. Just a few weeks prior to the trade, he was pretty open about this topic with The Athletic. He said, the relationship between the club and Devers “wasn’t going to end well.” Why?

Because of attitude problems and Rafael Devers’ inability to “put [his] ego aside” after signing that huge deal. And players must “find a way to do what you’re told.” The Boston Red Sox have dealt with plenty of drama around Rafael Devers during the 2025 MLB season. Devers, who refused to move off third base earlier this year to make room for Alex Bregman, eventually agreed to shift to designated hitter. But when the Red Sox later asked him to move to first base—after losing Tristan Casas for the season with a torn patellar tendon—Devers said no. Manager Alex Cora has commented on the issue, and Devers has even met with team ownership.

David Ortiz Says Leave Red Sox Dh Rafael Devers Alone On Decision To

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