We Don't Need No Stinking Devers!
(Yes, you do)
Rafael Devers has played 3 games at first base for the San Francisco Giants. I'm not sure if there was ever a bigger double bird salute in baseball than the one he just gave Craig Breslow. I won't rehash the drama leading up to the Devers trade but suffice to say it was one of the most mismanaged situations in Red Sox history. This from a ballclub that let Carlton Fisk and Roger Clemens walk in the prime of their careers. This from a ballclub that traded Mookie Betts for nothing in the prime of his career.
The Rationalizations
"Don't knock rationalization. Where would we be without it? I don't know anyone who could get through the day without two or three juicy rationalizations." Great quote, look it up. The first one is that Devers was a clubhouse cancer. His refusal to first DH and then play 1B was somehow tearing the team apart. Ok, well for 8 1/2 seasons with the Red Sox he hit 215 homers and drove in 696 runs while slashing an extremely consistent .279/.349/.510/.859. Since 2018, he is 3rd in doubles, 10th in HRs, and 6th in RBIs in all of baseball. I'm sure the clubhouse was just fine with him as a teammate while he was putting up those numbers.
"They have a winning record without him." This is true. The Red Sox are 19-14 since Devers left. The Red Sox are also 24-19 without Bregman. So, by that logic we should get rid of him too. They are also 48-45 without Yoshida, but now he's the everyday DH. Get my drift? You can't correlate one player to team performance.
"His refusal to play 1B hurt the team." If he had agreed to play 1B that would have left a hole at DH, right? What would have been the plan there? The bottom line is that after trading Devers, there are still holes at 1B and DH that have not been adequately filled. Toro has played 49 games at 1B with a .695 OPS. Romy has played 31 games at 1B with a .795 OPS but has been in a slump and is proving what we all suspected...he is a career backup.
At DH, Devers’ main replacements have been Anthony (13 games), Refsnyder (9 games), and Yoshida (10 games). Anthony has been good when DHing (1.066 OPS) but he should not be the long-term solution, and I suspect Cora sees it that way. He is a future outfielder and star. Refsnyder (.579) and Yoshida (.581) have been bad and are certainly not fit to be effective DHs at a position that needs to provide significant power and run production.
What's the plan, Craig?
Ideally, for either 1B or DH you would want a RH power bat. Stop me if you've heard this before, they've only been looking for that for 3 seasons. We saw what could have been with Teoscar Hernandez during this series. The two prizes this trade deadline are Yandy Diaz and Eugenio Suarez. Suarez hits all pitching well (.928 OPS vs RHP and .835 vs LHP). He's been a beast this year with 36 HRs and 87 RBIs. He has played exactly 2 innings at 1B in his career, but I don't care. He is a masher and a perfect DH candidate. He's a rental and yes, he will be expensive.
Yandy Diaz is an established first baseman. He also hits all pitching well (.812 vs RHP, .844 vs LHP this year). We don't need any more platoons! He would be a very nice power bat in a lineup that lacks a cleanup hitter. He also has a very reasonable $12M club option next year if the Red Sox want to go that route.
The Red Sox have many needs at the deadline, but I think the offense may be the biggest. After a scalding hot few games, guys like Story, Rafaela, and Romy have regressed to the mean. They need a run producer to put behind Duran, Anthony, and Bregman, who are heating up. Can Craig pull this off? Given recent media reporting it sounds like he's not interested in making a major move. So, back to the original point. They have not and probably will not replace Devers’ bat in the lineup, and that is pure incompetence.