Why Red Sox World Series Champ ‘Kept Receipts’ After Rafael Devers’ Slump

Much was made about the hellacious slump Boston Red Sox star Rafael Devers endured to begin the season.

Like others, Will Middlebrooks, a 2013 Red Sox World Series champion and NESN analyst, saw that Devers’ mechanics in the batter’s box were out of whack and led to his 0-for-21 stretch with 15 strikeouts.

“We finally get video breakdown of the setup and how much more open he is. How much that right foot is open and pulled back toward the catcher. So, he didn’t really have a good base,” Middlebrooks said on the most recent episode of “Sox Talk with Will Middlebrooks.” “He wasn’t really loading into his backside. Hitting’s timing. … He had that same timing, but his body was taking longer to get his front foot down. So, that’s why he was so late on everything.”

It being the beginning of the season and Devers being involved in spring training drama put his struggles at the plate into an even bigger spotlight. The 28-year-old Red Sox star was adjusting to a new position with Boston going with Alex Bregman at third base, which moved Devers to a full-time designated hitter role for the first time in his career.

Devers was defiant about the position change at first, but later changed his tune about the switch. But that didn’t stop fans and some members of the media from speculating that Devers’ rough patch was due to Devers still being upset over the situation.

Middlebrooks, who said Devers never lost his smile in the clubhouse during the slump, believes that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Yeah, it’s because of a broken heart. Dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” Middlebrooks said.

After going hitless in the first five games, Devers found his footing and looks more like his three-time All-Star self. He has 11 hits in his last 26 at-bats — good for a .423 batting average — over the last seven games entering Wednesday’s contest against the Toronto Blue Jays to go along with one home run and eight RBIs.

With the slump well in the rearview mirror now, it looks like Devers will have one of his patented seasons. The left-handed slugger has recorded at least 25 home runs and 80 RBIs in four consecutive seasons.

“I kept a lot of receipts. I’m kind of that person sometimes when things like this happen,” Middlebrooks said. “And I can’t wait to look back when he has 25, 30 homers, 85, 95, RBIs, and go, ‘Remember when everybody wanted to trade Raffy Devers because he had a bad five games?’ Five games, dude. It’s five games. He’s one of the best left-handed bats in the game and we’re talking about trading the guy because he had a five-game skid. Because everyone thinks he just has a bad attitude when they couldn’t be more wrong.

“Did it initially bother him at the beginning of camp when all this happened? Of course it did. He signed to be the third baseman for the rest of his career. Did he get over it quicky? Yeah, he did. That’s what Alex Cora’s job is. That’s what his teammates’ job is. That’s part of this. He’s still a human. He’s still a man and takes pride in what he does. “

Devers certainly could have used more than 15 at-bats over the course of spring training to help him get off to a better start. But that’s behind him now.

Whether it was a chat with Cora, David Ortiz or something else, he eventually saw the bigger picture of what the Red Sox were trying to achieve by putting Bregman at third. And while it was a major storyline at the beginning of spring training, it didn’t linger further than that.

“Now, is it a lot different having a Gold Glover over there? Absolutely. This is a better team because of it,” Middlebrooks said. “And Raffy realizes that because at the end of the day it’s about winning, it’s about putting another ring on his finger and that’s something he had to get past. And that is part of being a human being. And he’s past it. And it had nothing to do with his struggles. His struggles had to do with he wasn’t ready to play. Period. And now he’s locked back in.”