Major League Baseball

Rafael Devers lobbies Red Sox front office for roster help

Published Feb. 20, 2024 5:01 p.m. ET

Rafael Devers is looking for some help — from the front office of the Boston Red Sox.

With the Red Sox ramping up at the start of spring training, Devers made it clear Tuesday that he felt the franchise should have done more to improve the roster over the winter.

"They need to make an adjustment to help us players to be in a better position to win," he said through a translator. "Everybody in this organization wants to win. We, as [players], want to win. I think they need to make an adjustment to help us win.

"I'm not saying that the team is not OK right now, but they need to be conscious of what are the [weaknesses] and what we need."

Devers batted .271 with 33 homers and 100 RBIs in 153 games last year, but Boston finished last in the loaded AL East with a 78-84 record. The 27-year-old third baseman finalized a 10-year contract with the Red Sox in January 2023 that is worth $313.5 million.

The Red Sox were mostly quiet over the winter. They signed right-hander Lucas Giolito to a two-year, $38.5 million contract, and acquired outfielder Tyler O'Neill and infielder Vaughn Grissom in a pair of trades. But they also shipped outfielder Alex Verdugo to the New York Yankees, and parted with lefty Chris Sale in the deal with Atlanta that brought in Grissom.

Boston ranked sixth in the majors last year with a .258 team batting average, and its OPS of .748 was ninth. But it had a 4.52 team ERA, ranking 21st in the majors.

"Everybody knows what we need," Devers said. "You know what we need, and they know what we need. It's just there’s some things that I can’t say out loud. But everybody that knows the organization and knows the game knows what we need."

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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