How Rafael Devers Felt About Red Sox’s Opening Week Without Xander Bogaerts

Red Sox superstar Rafael Devers found himself in new territory upon the start of the 2023 Major League Baseball season.

Unlike Devers’ first six seasons in the big leagues, Xander Bogaerts was not to the third baseman’s left when Boston opened the new campaign. Bogaerts, who played in Boston for a decade, now is long gone from the Red Sox — literally and figuratively — playing for the Padres out in San Diego.

Bogaerts is a close friend of Devers and surely helped mold the two-time All-Star into the player and leader he’s become. Although Devers probably misses having his good pal around in the Red Sox clubhouse, he understands the nature of the beast that is MLB.

“This is baseball. Of course it’s a little bit different but we need to get used to it,” Devers told MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “There’s going to be years we’re going to have people going and also new people coming. So that’s one of the things you need to get used to when you’re in an organization for a long time.”

Both Bogaerts and Devers are enjoying strong starts to the new season. Entering Sunday, the veteran shortstop leads the Padres in batting average, hits, home runs and RBIs. Devers is tied for the Red Sox team lead in homers and ranks second in those other categories, trailing only the scorching-hot Adam Duvall.

Devers and Bogaerts are set to reunite next month when Boston hosts San Diego for a three-game series beginning May 19.