Rafael Devers is officially a San Francisco Giant. And he doesn’t care where on the field he plays.
The Giants introduced their new star slugger on Tuesday, two days after acquiring Devers in a trade from the Boston Red Sox. The deal took place after a public falling out in Boston in which the Red Sox removed Devers from his longtime position at third base and put him at designated hitter.
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Devers isn’t projected to play at third in San Francisco, either. That job belongs to five-time Gold Glove winner Matt Chapman. But Devers isn’t worried about it. He was the designated hitter for his Giants debut against the Cleveland Guardians, a game the team lost 3-2 on Tuesday at Oracle Park.
Here’s what Devers had to say on the subject at his introductory news conference.
“I’m here to give my 100 percent,” Devers said through his interpreter. “I don’t put any buts. They’re the men in charge.
“I am here to play wherever they want me to play.”
Devers went 2-for-5 in the loss with an RBI double in the third inning.
Third-base fallout in Boston
Had Devers provided the same answer to the same question in Boston, he might still be a member of the Red Sox. Instead, he’s taking a new approach with his new team that acquired him to compete in a loaded NL West.
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Before joining the Giants, Devers played his entire eight-plus season MLB career with the Red Sox. He’s a four-time All-Star who very well could earn his fifth selection this season. He was the last remaining player on the roster from Boston’s 2018 World Series championship team.
But the relationship between Devers and the Red Sox grew strained this winter after Boston acquired third baseman Alex Bregman in free agency. That signing presented the Red Sox with an obvious baseball decision.
Bregman is a Gold Glove third baseman. Devers, by multiple advanced metrics, is one of the worst third basemen in the sport. The obvious move was to place Bregman at third and move Devers — an All-Star slugger — to designated hitter.
But Devers made clear in no uncertain terms during spring training that he had zero desire to cede third base to Bregman.
“Third base is my position,” Devers said in February, per MLB.com. “It’s what I’ve played. I don’t know what their plans are. I know we had a conversation. I made it clear, kind of what my desires were, and whatever happens from here, I don’t know.”
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Devers then responded “no” when asked if he was open to playing designated hitter.
Rafael…