Rafael Devers of the San Francisco Giants is looking to the future, even as his former club tried to pull him into the past.
The slugger is preparing for his first full season with the Giants, who acquired him from the Boston Red Sox in June 2025. But that didn’t stop Red Sox chairman Tom Werner from airing his grievances about Devers this week.
Suffice it to say, Devers had a spicy retort to being dragged backwards into the mud by his former team.
What Did Tom Werner Say About Rafael Devers?
It was no secret that Rafael Devers’ final season with the Red Sox was rife with drama. The Sox reportedly didn’t communicate that they were targeting Alex Bregman, who would essentially take over Devers’ defensive role. Then, there were rumblings that Devers was refusing to play first base after Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury. The never-ending saga led to the three-time All-Star being traded less than two seasons into a 10-year contract.
All that kerfuffle ended eight months ago when Devers went out west — until Werner brought it up this week in an interview with the Boston Globe.
“I don’t like to speak ill of any player. I’d like to say that he’s a wonderful person,” Werner said. “But, of course, when we had an injury at first base [to Triston Casas], his unwillingness to play that position was extremely discouraging… It was a discouraging episode… Just pick up a glove.”
How Did Rafael Devers Respond?
Long story short, Rafael Devers was unamused.
When the Bay Area media caught up with Devers at Giants’ spring training down in Scottsdale, Arizona, he made it clear he isn’t looking backward.
“That’s in the past,” Devers said through team interpreter, via the San Jose Mercury News. “I don’t want to talk about it. It’s over. I don’t have any opinions on what he said. So, let’s concentrate here and just leave the past in the past.”
What Rafael Devers Brings to the Giants
Rafael Devers didn’t exactly “knock it out of the park” the second he got to San Francisco. (Funny enough, he hit his first homer in orange and black when the Red Sox came to town shortly after the trade.) However, he has since settled into his role as the middle-of-the-lineup hitter the Giants desperately needed.
Devers slashed .236/.347/.460 with 20 homeruns and 51 RBI in 90 games for San Francisco in 2025. The San Francisco Standard reports that Devers is aiming to hit 30 homers for the Giants this season — technically, he hit 35 if you count the bombs he hit for Boston — and has been putting in the work at batting practice down at spring training.
He has also been polishing his defensive chops, opting to skip the World Baseball Classic and work with new Giants infield coach Ron Washington.
“He’s working his butt off,” Washington told the Mercury News. “He’s been making the adjustments you have to make.”
Giants skipper Tony Vitello added: “He’s pretty passionate about how well the team does, not just himself.. He takes ownership of that craft.”
Whatever “unwillingness” Tom Werner referenced to the Boston Globe, it doesn’t appear to be part of Rafael Devers’ plan for the 2026 season.
Giants’ Rafael Devers Claps Back at Red Sox Chairman