Rafael Devers declines Red Sox’s request to play first base

Boston Red Sox hitting star Rafael Devers said Thursday that he informed team management that he will not play first base in the wake of Triston Casas being lost for the season due to a major knee injury.

Devers is serving as designated hitter after the team signed Alex Bregman as their new third baseman in the offseason. Devers balked at no longer playing third in spring training until manager Alex Cora made it clear he was going to be the DH.

Speaking after Boston’s 5-0 victory over the Texas Rangers on Thursday, Devers is now intent on not playing in the field.

“I know I’m a ballplayer, but at the same time, they can’t expect me to play every single position out there,” Devers said through an interpreter. “In spring training, they talked to me and basically told me to put away my glove. I wasn’t going to play another position other than DH. Right now, I don’t think it would be an appropriate decision by them to ask me to play another position.”

Devers said that Red Sox chief baseball office Craig Breslow approached him with the suggestion that he take over first base.

Devers, who has never played first base, responded with a different solution: make a trade.

“Now, they should do their jobs essentially and hit the market and look for another player,” Devers said. “I’m not sure why they want me to be an in-between. Next thing you know, someone in the outfield gets hurt and they want me to play in the outfield. I know the kind of player that I am, and that’s where I stand.”

Boston is currently using Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro as first-base fill-ins.

Devers mentioned that Breslow — a relief pitcher for 12 big-league seasons and a member of Boston’s 2013 World Series-winning team — should understand his plight.

“He played ball. I would like to think that he knows that changing positions isn’t easy,” Devers said. “They put me in this situation. They told me they didn’t want me to play any other positions.”

Devers, 28, has been the Red Sox’s designated hitter for all 39 games this season. He slugged his sixth homer of the campaign on Thursday. He is batting .255 with 25 RBIs.

But even after his offensive contributions on Thursday, Devers was testy about the situation.

“They told me that I’m a little hard-headed, but they already asked me to change (positions) once. This time, I don’t think I can be as flexible,” Devers said. “I don’t feel they stayed true to their word. They told me I was going to play this position — DH. Now they’re going back on that.”

The spring training stalemate brewed into the eve of the regular season with Cora finally making a decision he said was best for the team. That was Bregman as the third baseman and Devers as the DH.

Past performance backed up Cora. Bregman won the American League Gold Glove for the Houston Astros last season while Devers led the AL in errors by a third baseman for the seventh straight season.

Devers has 206 homers and 663 RBIs in eight-plus seasons, all with Boston.

–Field Level Media