Within the Boston Red Sox‘s clubhouse at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Florida, the gravitational pull emanates from the nook locker. Whereas most gamers get one locker to retailer their gear, this one is super-sized, with an additional cupboard and a bench. The house, subsequent to the door nearest the sphere, is reserved for Crimson Sox royalty to carry courtroom. When the ballpark opened in 2012, the locker belonged to David Ortiz. He handed it on to Dustin Pedroia in 2016, who handed it over to Xander Bogaerts heading into the 2020 season.
After Bogaerts signed an 11-year, $280 million cope with the San Diego Padres this offseason, there was a transparent inheritor obvious: third baseman Rafael Devers, the brand new face of the franchise, who signed a 10-year, $313.5 million extension in January.
“He is been a pacesetter of this crew for some time right here now,” stated Crimson Sox supervisor Alex Cora. “When he talks in that clubhouse, it is necessary to these guys.”
Lately, Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi and Christian Vazquez have been depended upon as leaders and to reply the powerful questions from the Boston media and their crew’s followers. Now, a lot of that falls on Devers, who till now hasn’t been anticipated to be the man, the one individual everybody turns to within the largest moments to offer motivation and management.
In the intervening time, that accountability is not on the high of Devers’ thoughts.
“I do not actually see myself an excessive amount of as a pacesetter proper now,” Devers stated by way of an interpreter. “I simply attempt to be one of many guys. We have now a whole lot of new guys within the clubhouse now, and I simply need them to have the boldness to come back up and strategy me with any questions they’ve.”
The transition in clubhouse management comes throughout a tumultuous time in franchise historical past. Pessimism reigns amongst Crimson Sox followers. The crew’s offseason strikes — highlighted by Devers’ extension, in addition to including Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida — weren’t sufficient to erase the bitter style of dropping Bogaerts, which had resparked dialog across the much-maligned commerce of Mookie Betts, now getting into his fourth season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Followers made no secret of their disappointment, booing principal proprietor John Henry and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom on the Crimson Sox’s annual Winter Weekend. If Boston will get off to a sluggish begin this season, the requires change on the sphere and within the government suite will solely intensify.
It is a noisy backdrop to a vital time of development for Devers, who’s presently enjoying for the Dominican Republic at the World Baseball Classic. At 26 years outdated, he represents a generational shift occurring in Boston, with pitchers Chris Sale and Ryan Brasier the one different gamers left from the 2018 World Sequence championship crew. In 2022, the Crimson Sox completed in final place with a 78-84 file in baseball’s best division.
Devers’ perspective — which teammates depend amongst his strengths — will go a great distance.
“He is all the time blissful,” stated Crimson Sox infielder Christian Arroyo. “He isn’t a kind of guys the place simply because he signed an enormous contract he will work more durable or much less onerous now. He is been the identical manner since I’ve met him, and I believe he is realized a whole lot of that from [Bogaerts].”
Since he arrived within the huge leagues in 2017 as a 21-year-old, Devers caught to Bogaerts like Pikachu to Ash Ketchum. The 2 had neighboring lockers within the Fenway Park clubhouse and, whether or not it was consuming dinner or taking floor balls, Devers and Bogaerts have been inseparable.
“The whole lot, I realized from him,” Devers stated. “He created the setting right here. I simply need to maintain that alive. He was anyone all of us revered and I simply need to proceed that legacy throughout the clubhouse.”
Bogaerts had realized from watching Ortiz throughout his early days within the huge leagues and all the time stood at his locker after video games to discipline questions on something that went mistaken for the crew. When Bogaerts walked into the clubhouse, there was all the time a smile on his face and heat greetings for everybody from teammates to clubhouse attendants to media.
Teammates do discover a distinction in Devers.
“I do not imply this to be bizarre, however he is a extra infantile model of Xander. There’s an innocence to him,” stated outfielder Enrique Hernandez. “He is very playful and all the time having a great time.”
Today, Devers’ levity is a reduction within the clubhouse. For him, the drama of the offseason — identical to a tricky loss throughout it — is already previously.
“When you’re mad or offended or bothered, you bought to examine your self,” Devers stated. “It is a recreation that we’re enjoying. You are meant to have enjoyable. It is a recreation and we’re a household and in the event you do not perceive that, what are you actually doing?”
On the sphere, teammates know what they are going to get from Devers, who has lengthy been one of many crew’s most necessary offensive forces — he earned MVP votes in 2019, 2021 and 2022 and performed a key function in Boston’s run to the World Sequence in 2018. He additionally has made strides on protection after common criticism early in his profession. Devers has improved his vary and mobility to his glove aspect, with backhanded performs and dangerous throws accounting for almost all of his errors earlier in his profession.
To some, although, he is nonetheless a little bit of an enigma. Whereas he didn’t communicate a lot English as a rookie in 2017, he is now repeatedly seen joking with teammates within the language. However in 2020, when Devers entered camp and informed teammates he had his second child through the offseason, many have been stunned to study he was a father within the first place. He hardly ever posts on social media — his Twitter bio nonetheless lists him as a “Boston Crimson Sox Minor League 3B” and he final tweeted in 2015.
When requested if he made any main purchases after signing his huge extension, Devers laughed.
“I’ll maintain that personal,” he stated.
Now, Devers shall be tasked with main the new-look Crimson Sox, a non-public individual in one of many largest positions of public scrutiny in baseball. And whereas the departure of Bogaerts definitely leaves a niche within the clubhouse management, Devers remembers watching how the previous Boston shortstop affected others within the clubhouse, particularly himself.
“I need to be that man for others,” Devers stated.