Former Red Sox Stars Lead Opposite National League Lives: 1 Up, 1 Down

Former Boston Red Sox stars Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers have been reunited but it doesn’t necessarily feel so good. Bogaerts is in the third season of his 11-year, $280 million contract with the San Diego Padres. Devers also calls the National League West home following last month’s blockbuster five-player trade with the San Francisco Giants.

Devers continues to struggle in the Bay Area. He went 1-for-3 with one strikeout in Friday’s 11-2 loss to the Athletics. The 28-year-old is hitting .215 with the Giants and has an alarming 26 strikeouts in 65 at-bats. Red Sox fans no doubt remember Devers’ early-season struggles, going 0-for-19 with 15 strikeouts in Boston’s first five games. But Bogaerts believes his former teammate will get back on track.

“He’s born to hit,” said Bogaerts said, according to CBS Sports’ Julian McWilliams. “Balls, strikes. Anything. He can chase balls. People say ‘Oh, he’s struggling.’ Yeah, he’s playing on the East Coast every day. They went for a trip to the West Coast. But his trip is where he’s going to stay. It’s hard to adjust with all of that.” 

Bogaerts knows a thing or two about adjusting. The two-time World Series champion has yet to regain the All-Star form which made him a cornerstone player in Boston. He played just 111 games last season after breaking his left shoulder.

This year, he’s played in 85 of the Padres’ 87 games despite lingering discomfort in the shoulder which required a cortisone shot, McWilliams reported. The four-time All-Star is hitting .255 this season with five home runs. But Bogaerts says he’s on the upswing.

“It’s feeling good,” said Bogaerts, per McWilliams “The shoulder is getting better. I can’t be really diving that much on the field — for now. That’s how it gets aggravated. At least we’re kind of aware of where that comes from.” 

Bogaerts began turning around his season last month, hitting .290 in June with nine doubles and two home runs. “I really believe [he’s found something],” said Padres manager Mike Shildt, according to McWilliams. “And, rightfully, you get asked the questions, because it’s a performance-based game, and some of the performance hadn’t been up to his standards.

“But I could comfortably and confidently answer that three weeks ago we [began] seeing more consistency in Xander’s bat speed and exit velocity. We just weren’t seeing results. I am so glad that he didn’t get discouraged.” 

Bogaerts and the Padres (47-40) are second place in the NL West, eight games back.

Devers and the Giants (47-42) are in third place, nine games back.

Of course, both teams (and players) are chasing former teammate Mookie Betts, who has helped the Dodgers accumulate the best record in baseball (56-33).

So the road to the World Series is set to go through the NL West, with three former home-grown Red Sox playing leading roles.