MLB the ninth: Devers and Red Sox did not want to make peace

ByDavid Mitchell
MLB the ninth: Devers and Red Sox did not want to make peace

  • Damián L. Delgado AverhoffJun 21, 2025, 14:20

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      He is passionate about sport. He was a sports editor in Bohemia magazine in Cuba. From 2005 to date it has reported important international events. He currently writes about baseball and boxing at Espndeportes.com.

Much to talk about the conflict between Rafael Devers and the Red Sox, the composure of Ohtani and the “threats” of Manny Machado.

As we go, the disagreement between Rafael Devers and the Boston Red Sox will have more chapters than a Turkish soap, those that are fashionable and do not seem to end. Everyone already knows that Boston exchanged his player franchise towards the other end of the country, San Francisco. They wanted it well after neither of the two parties agreed on the role that Devers would occupy at the beginning of the season with the contracting of the antealist Alex Bregman and after the injury of the initialist Triston Casas. Devers reluctantly accepted third to designated, but implored when they asked him to play the initial to replace the injured partner. In summary, Devers leaves the team that was his house since he was 16 for the back door. The situation, as expected, unleashed the controversy. Stars of the recent past of Boston unfortunately, some justifying and others criticizing. Who is right in this story? I really don’t know, there is a lot of hidden lyrics. One part says one thing, and the other is not far behind with its totally opposite version. Seeing the “gladiators” from the stands, it could be thought that the Red Sox disrespected Devers, or at least he believes. Only in this way is the Dominican behavior understood in his presentation with the giants when he said with a smile from ear to ear: “I am here to play wherever they want to play.” Ah, now! There is no more direct dart for Boston’s central offices.

2. He who pays

I do not know if Boston acted with premeditation. There are theories that point out that the team wanted to get rid of the contract made (the greatest in the history of the franchise) to a one -dimensional player who is not precisely athletic and lifts doubts in his aging process, but it was clear that the way they handled the situation with his star did not contribute to the solution of the conflict. While Red Sox is a franchise accustomed to “mistreating” its stellar (Babe Ruth, Norman Garciaparra, Pedro Martínez, Manny Ramírez, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Chris Sale), Devers obvied the maximums: “He who pays commands” and “Baseball is a team sport.” He likes it or not, he has to understand that he is a wage earner. He has a boss, and where Captain rules does not send a soldier. If you don’t like it, then you buy a team and have your will. Or to be dedicated to playing tennis. In addition, the requests they made were not to worsen their situation, but to improve the team (Devers was the antealist with more errors in the American League in each of the seasons from 2018 to 2024). I do not want to say that he had to lower his head and abide by silence, he had simply accommodated his interests to achieve the common goal of the group, win the World Series. After all, he was paying many millions that is probably the greatest sign of respect for an owner towards an employee. No one is more important than the team, that should have known. Fortunately, the world does not end and each one will follow their way.

3. David Ortiz, in the style of Poncio Pilate?

After months as one of Rafael Devers’s main defenders, David Ortiz’s statements, once the player’s change was given from Boston to San Francisco, in which the “Big Papi” criticized the player in personal terms, took more than one by surprise. In March of this year, Ortiz referred to Devers as “the team’s horse” and used a funny expression to point out that “Carita” was not an at the interior of the Red Sox. However, once the change of devers to the giants was completed, Ortiz’s words left much to think about. “No one is indispensable in a team. The only way to become indispensable is to do things well, in all aspects. You need to be available. I think that marked the end of the relationship between the Red Sox and Devers. You have to be intelligent. The worst enemy of a player is his ego,” said Ortiz in an interview with the journalist Yancen Pujols. Many fans do not seem to have fallen in grace for the radical change of Ortiz posture and have openly criticized him, pointing him as an incoherent, but it is good to remember that Cooperstown’s immortal remains as a Boston employee. (– Juan A. Recio)

4. Manny Ramírez, out of nowhere, is thrown from the third rope in defense of Devers

One who did not share Ortiz’s opinion at all was his former teammaker and also legend of the Red Sox, Manny Ramírez. Ramírez spoke during a live broadcast with the Dominican journalist Héctor Gómez and later in MLB Network, pointing out both times that Devers was “humiliated” by the Red Sox. “Devers was humiliated (by the Red Sox). It’s not a matter of pride or ego. I think the team did not respect him or communicated well with him. I am sure that Roger Clemens didn’t do that. Ramírez is one who knows well what it is to be in Devers’s shoes, since he lived an episode with the Red Sox, when they decided to change it to Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008 and the relationship did not culminate in good terms. (– Juan A. Recio)

5. Pedro Martínez called “liars” to those who point to Devers as a bad companion

A saying says that “there are no two without three” and probably, in the midst of all the fury that caused the change of devers, everyone expected the opinion of another Immortal of Cooperstown and legend in Boston, Pedro Martínez. “Pedro the Great” did not disappoint and immediately came out in defense of Devers, calling for ‘liars’ to those who called the player “bad companion.” “If you try to sell me, getting to Rafael Devers, that he is a bad teammate or that he is not a team player, you are lying. Do you mean that he is a bad influence on the clubhouse? It is not,” said the former docker during an intervention for MLB Network. Martínez went even further with the whole issue and pointed out that mistakes were made in the way in which all the fact was handled, indicating that baseball people should be included to mediate among the organization and Devers, not office people. Going, even further, when he indicated that Ortiz himself made mistakes in the way he handled the situation, when he allowed them to record them during spring training, speaking evil of the Red Sox. (– Juan A. Recio)

6. Othani, El Caballero

Shohei Ohtani is a player from another galaxy. His numbers support him, but the Japanese phenomenon goes further with his daily behavior. It can be ensured that fame does not go to the head. In social networks there are videos of him collecting the garbage that his classmates leave in the dugout or greeting the referees every time he takes a break to bat. But this last Thursday his attitude left many speechless. Ohtani received a ball from the closer Robert Suarez from the San Diego Padres who, clearly, was an answer to the ball that Jack Little had given Fernando Tatis Jr. in the upper part of the ninth entrance. After the coup to Tatis Jr. both benches came out and the situation was about to get out of control. However, seconds later, after the impact on Ohtani, the Japanese player himself asked his teammates to stay in the Dugout, he approached the bank of his rivals to placate the situation and closed with a handshake with the initialist of the parents Luis Inserte. Many major leagues should follow the example of the Japanese, not only as a player, but as a person.

7. Manny Machado, the Vito Corloene del Basebol

Who should look first in Ohtani’s mirror is the Dominican Manny Machado. His attitude towards the same situation was 180 degrees opposite. As if possessed by Don Vito Corleone, the character created by the writer Mario Puzzo and that it was an amalgam of great bosses of the mafia, the antterior of the San Diego Padres said at the end of the spicy game against Dodgers: “Hopefully the computerized tomography will come out negative. The dodgers have to pray to leave negative tomorrow.” Come … the Vito Corleone went to the head. No Manny, baseball does not belong to organized crime and threat threat is out of place. A ball is part of the game and, remember, do not throw stones when you have the glass roof. Perhaps you forgot that a landslide ended with the career of Dustin Pedroia. You imagine if the Red Sox had assumed your same attitude when you retired one of their most emblematic players. Here applies the phrase someone told a dictator “why don’t you shut up.”

Last week I dedicated an entrance of this column to the central gardener of the Athletics, Denzel Clarke, for two incredible films that will surely be in most summaries at the end of the 2025 campaign. But Clarke is not enough with those jewels, this week he also broke the limits of logic with a edge that best sees it so that you understand them. As long as it goes, it is likely that monopolizes five or six positions on the list of the best Flirtes of the year.

9. Germán Mesa, director of the ‘Team Asere’ to the World Classic

Finally, the Cuban government, represented by the Cuban Baseball Federation, appointed the Expenlotero Germán Mesa as a manager of the Cuba team that will participate in the sixth edition of the World Classic in March 2026. Cuba is located in key A, based in Puerto Rico, next to the hosts, Canada, Colombia and Panama. The once great protagonist in international events will seek to repeat the result of the last edition when he advanced to the semifinals, something that looks difficult. The largest of the Antilles does not win an important title at the level of national teams from the Pan American Games of Rio de Janeiro 2007. Table has in their hands the complicated task of convincing the very few MLB players who have not rejected the colors of the Team Asere and put together a competitive team. Andy Pages, from Dodgers, until now is MLB’s player with the highest profile that said yes in case of being summoned. Others, such as Aroldis Chapman, Raisel Iglesias, Jorge Soler, Yandy Diaz and Luis Robert Jr., already said they are not interested in participating.

David Mitchell
David Mitchell

As a passionate sports journalist with over a decade of experience, I strive to uncover the heart and soul behind every game. Supported by a dedicated team of fellow enthusiasts and storytellers, I am committed to delivering insightful and engaging content that connects fans worldwide. Together, we celebrate the victories, challenges, and unifying spirit of sports through every article we craft.