Alex Cora seems exhausted by the ongoing questions surrounding Rafael Devers and his abrupt departure from the Red Sox. The manager was once again pressed on the situation — but this time, he delivered a firm response clearly meant to shut the door on the topic moving forward.
“Clear the air about what? It’s a trade. It’s baseball. It’s a business. That’s how it works. It’s not the first guy that’s gotten traded. It’s not the last guy. People have their opinions about the whole thing — communication, first base, DH, third base, the manager, the GM, the owner, whatever. It’s a baseball trade. From my end, I turn the page.”
Cora’s latest response made one thing clear: within the Red Sox organization, the chapter on Rafael Devers is officially closed — even as reports continue to surface about the player’s immature behavior during his final stretch with the team.
Cora wanted Devers out of Boston
That’s right. In a recent report by Jeff Passan, several explosive details were revealed about Devers’ conduct, but perhaps the most significant was that Alex Cora — once one of Devers’ strongest advocates — supported the decision to move on from him.
“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,” Passan wrote in his ESPN column.
Devers’ First Game Back
In what was expected to be a more meaningful debut against his former team, Devers struggled at the plate, going 0-for-5 in a game the Giants ultimately lost. They now turn their attention to the second game of the series, still searching for their first home win since June 8.