Red Sox’s Rafael Devers Rewarded Early After Offseason Change

It probably went unnoticed to the untrained eye, but Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers made a fairly significant change this offseason.

That over-the-top, back spasm-inducing batting stance? It’s gone.

Devers has always been unique in his approach at the plate, but in recent seasons it seemed as though his bat speed was no longer enough to make up for the long path he took to the baseball. The Houston Astros, some of you might remember, threw him 35 consecutive fastballs across two games in 2021. He finished 0-for-7 from the plate in that series with five strikeouts.

Devers isn’t exactly bad against fastballs, though his batting average hasn’t eclipsed .272 against four-seamers in the last three seasons. He was hitting .165 against the pitch at one point in 2021.

That’s why the Red Sox decided to make a change.

Boston had the 27-year-old lower his hands in his approach, giving him a more direct path to the ball. You can find a side-by-side comparison here, where his hands are at far different points on his body during the same point in his leg kick.

It’s something that a ton of hitters go through, looking to find ways to stay ahead of the ever-growing amount of information about them at a pitcher’s disposal. Devers believes it was a worthwhile adjustment.

“I was thinking about that today,” Devers said Thursday of the adjustment, per Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe. “Like I said before, everybody throws hard. I think that adjustment will help me throughout the season, for sure.”

The Red Sox didn’t have to wait long to see the results, either. Devers homered in his second at-bat in an Opening Day win over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday.

RAFFY SAID IT'S BASEBALL SEASON. pic.twitter.com/nCoIgBolfO

— Red Sox (@RedSox) March 29, 2024

“That homer was impressive,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said postgame, per McWilliams. “He enjoys playing here, too. It’s where he started. His first big-league game was here. It seems like he hits the ball out of the ballpark here through the big part of the field.”

Devers finished 2-for-5 in the opener, collecting his first home run and RBIs of the young season. It essentially served as an extension from spring training, where he slashed .380/.436/.720 with five home runs.

If Boston can rely on Devers to take an MVP-like leap, they could be in a much better spot than anyone initially expected.