Two of the Boston Red Sox’s games against the Seattle Mariners were lost due to Rafael Devers’ injury. His absence from the mostly ineffective batting order was greatly felt.
Because of strained shoulders, the third baseman was left out of the Sox vs. Mariners game on March 29. Just the day before, Devers had given Boston its first home run of the season, which only made Red Sox supporters more anxious when word leaked out about his injuries.
After Boston’s first game without Devers on March 29, manager Alex Cora clarified that Devers’s absence was just a precaution. The Sox felt it wasn’t worth the risk to play him because he was sore when he got at warm-ups and there is still a lot of baseball season remaining.
With five home runs in his scorching spring for the Red Sox, Devers is projected to have the largest presence at the plate, therefore it is not ideal for the franchise’s face to be out of the game at any point.
However, Devers was also forced to skip the game on March 30, and even after Cora’s remarks, anxiety was rising among Sox supporters. Prior to the season, Boston had a lengthy disabled list; however, some relief was provided by the return of Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen. However, the Red Sox would probably have a difficult start to the season if Devers were to go down with the IL, as backups Enmanuel Valdez, Bobby Dalbec, or Pablo Reyes would be forced to play every day in the infield.
Boston lost both of its games without Devers in the lineup and it was starved for production at the plate against Seattle’s top-tier pitching staff. When he returned to the roster on the 31st, Devers singed off the second pitch he saw from Bryce Miller, essentially telling fans he was good to go.
The third baseman acknowledged that he played despite his shoulder issue during spring training, which started in Fort Myers. It’s all their fault, but he waited until the season started to get worse before deciding to speak up. If this is the case, he shouldn’t have been participating in spring training, and fans who believed Devers would be the only reliable player in 2024 are now considering this possibility.
Devers is back in Boston’s starting lineup for the time being, and his absence from the match was merely a precaution. If he is truly healthy, he ought to soon be back to hitting home runs, and an Oakland series would be ideal place to start his upswing
