What Rafael Devers Told Alex Cora About Season-Ending Injury

Rafael Devers will end his eighth Major League Baseball season on the shelf.

The Red Sox on Saturday placed Devers on the 10-day injured list due to shoulder inflammation, which means the star third baseman will miss the final eight games on Boston’s regular-season schedule. Before the Red Sox’s middle game against the Minnesota Twins was postponed, Alex Cora shed light on the extent of Devers’ injury as well as a conversation he had with the three-time All-Star about his status.

“He made some adjustments throughout and yesterday he was like, there wasn’t much there,” Cora told reporters Saturday, per The Boston Globe. “Today, actually, we talked about something I saw mechanically, and he was very honest about it. The bat speed, it wasn’t there. We can see it.”

Devers still put together a solid season despite his nagging injuries. The 27-year-old, who was one of MLB’s hottest hitters earlier in the summer, entered Sunday as Boston’s leader in RBIs (83), OBP (.354) and .OPS (.871).

But with the Red Sox’s postseason hopes all but vanished, it made sense for the club to shut Devers down. Boston will trim its list of remaining games Sunday when it hosts Minnesota for a doubleheader.