Alex Cora Notes ‘Mechanical’ Shift In Red Sox Star’s Swing

BOSTON — Rafael Devers has had a better second half to the season with the Boston Red Sox with his numbers looking more like his potential.

In 125 games this season, Devers is slashing .269/.344/.509 with a .833 OPS with 29 home runs and 88 RBIs.

One area at the plate where Devers has not been prominent this season is using the opposite field to his advantage. The Red Sox slugger relies on pull-side power in 2023 in a shift that Alex Cora noticed from the early days of the year.

“Mechanically, he’s kind of been off the whole season,” Cora said told reporters at Fenway Park on Wednesday. “They attack him differently. They keep throwing the fastball up and away. They put it on him in. I think he, at certain times, gets anxious because he knows what’s coming. He wants to hit harder instead of hitting it off the wall.”

The Boston manager hopes that the Red Sox third baseman can find consistency with hard contact and patience at the plate.

“He’s still hitting the ball hard,” Cora explained. “At one point, he was taking his walks. Right now, he’s in between, probably. With him, it takes one swing.”

It’s fair to place some explanation on Devers’ changes this season in the adjustment to becoming the true focal point of the Red Sox lineup, especially in his first year after signing a massive 11-year, $331 million extension during the offseason.

“You can see certain teams pitch around him,” Cora said. “That’s part of the progression. You are the guy. He was the guy last year too.”

Cora did feel that not utilizing the opposite field at the plate goes beyond Devers and can be a point of emphasis for the rest of the lineup.

“I think as a whole, we haven’t been able to use the opposite field, especially our lefties,” Cora added. “We haven’t been consistent in hitting the ball the other way and taking advantage of it.”

Devers hits third as the Red Sox and Houston Astros wrap up the three-game series from Fenway with first pitch set for 4:10 p.m. ET. You can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.