Slumps over the course of a 162-game season are inevitable.
But what Boston Red Sox star Rafael Devers is going through to begin this season is drawing plenty of attention due to the magnitude of his woes at the plate.
The Boston Red Sox star is not only hitless in the series against the Texas Rangers, but he also struck out an eye-popping 10 times, setting an MLB record for the most strikeouts in the first three games of the season.
Devers obviously has struggled with his swing, having a difficult time catching up to fastballs. While Devers tries to find a solution — and quickly — he doesn’t have to do so alone with manager Alex Cora and other members of the Red Sox looking to lend a helping hand.
“Little by little, you start finding stuff that he’s doing now that are just bad habits or mentality about the approach,” Cora told reporters prior to Sunday’s series finale, per MassLive’s Sean McAdam. “We just had a good conversation about that. It’s details that I’ve noticed throughout his career. We can talk about his set-up, we can talk about his hands. But he’s been (adjusting) his hands his whole career — sometimes they’re down, sometimes they’re up, whatever.
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“But I think there’s something that I’ve noticed (Saturday) that hopefully he can go out there today and execute and if it does, he’ll take off. If he doesn’t, we’ll take off again tomorrow.”
Cora also pointed out that there could be a problem with Devers’ open stance leading to the issues in the batter’s box.
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“That’s something we’ve noticed,” Cora said. “Without going too deep into it, if you’re not grounded, you’re not going to be on time. Obviously, we know that he’s not getting on fastballs; how we’re going to get there is the question. And I think I’ve noticed a few things and hopefully we can execute. Just watching.
“As a manager, one of the things I learned from Tito (Francona) is you don’t know everything. I was a .230 hitter. So for me to break down a swing and tell Raffy, ‘You’re doing this,’ or ‘You’re not doing this.’ No. But obviously, watching him since 2017, you pick up a few things. Other players have seen it. You don’t want to hammer him with everything. He knows, he feels it.”
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Cora didn’t give Devers, who switched from third base to a full-time designated hitter this season, a mental breather Sunday, which would have been justified.
Instead, Cora is letting Devers work through things and had him back in the No. 2 spot in the order with the Red Sox looking to even their record.
Featured image via Tim Heitman/Imagn Images
