Devers, rising star in Red Sox

David Ortiz, the most important player the Red Sox have ever had because of his production and the team’s success during his time in Boston, was 27 when he joined the Red Sox from the Twins. Rafael Devers, the most complete hitter the club has had since Ortiz, doesn’t turn 26 until October. If Devers stays at Fenway, he’s capable of being that kind of player. And he already has a World Series ring with his name on it.

That’s how talented Devers is. If he’s in good health this season, he’ll be one of the youngest revelations in the major leagues by the time he turns 26, which will be around the time of the next World Series.

Many Hall of Fame left-handed hitters have passed through Fenway Park, despite the presence of a Green Monster in left field who looks as if he could touch each other at the plate: Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Wade Boggs, Ortiz. Now comes this talented kid, who finished the 2021 season against the Nationals as follows, in a win that allowed Boston to host the Yankees for the AL Wild Card Game:

Four hits. Four towed. Two home runs. The last of his two homers broke a tie in the ninth inning as the Red Sox struggled to recover from trailing 5-1.

“This is just the first celebration,” Devers said that day, before the Red Sox beat the Yankees and then the Rays in the AL Division Series and were within two wins of returning to the World Series. .

The Red Sox are going to thunder this season. They’ve added Trevor Story to a well-balanced offensive order with left-handed and right-handed hitters. But the cornerstone of the lineup is Devers. Whatever the Red Sox accomplish offensively this season will revolve around the Dominican third baseman. Devers isn’t the best third baseman in the game. But Boston fans are aware of it. But they also know the following:

Devers is the Juan Soto of Boston, even if he is three years older than the Washington slugger.

Soto is too good. Everyone knows that. The Quisqueyan is about to start his fifth season with the Nationals. In 2020, in the season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, Soto hit .351. Last year, he hit 29 home runs and drove in 95 runs while hitting .313. In 2019, he hit 34 homers and had 110 RBIs.

In his last full season before 2021, Devers homered 32 times, drove in 115 runs and hit .311. And last year, he showed his ability again. So yes, Devers is a rising star as is Soto. He has played in seven postseason series in his career and has a career batting average of .303. In October of last year, in two series against the Rays and Astros, he hit five homers and had 12 RBIs and 13 hits in 10 games. Like the Big Papi, he has proven to be the kind of player who thrives on big moments.

This was something a well-respected member of the Red Sox organization, who asked not to be named, had to say about Devers these days:

“I wasn’t here when Ted and Yaz were young. But I saw Wade Boggs throw pitch after foul, something he did constantly and consistently until he got one for a hit. I’ve seen a lot of other good hitters here. But I have never seen a young boy like Raffy. And on top of everything, he is a very affectionate boy”.

“[Devers] He reminds me a little bit of the player Robinson Cano was when he was younger,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said.

It is a great compliment. And it’s because Devers still has so much more potential, even entering his sixth season with the Red Sox. This could be the year he hits 40 homers for Boston. An important decision is looming on a new contract for Devers, as well as for Aruban Xander Bogaerts.

To be as generous as possible, Devers remains a work in progress defensively. He’s made 82 errors the past four seasons, and that number includes his 57-game season in 2020. But if he’s also a work in progress as a hitter, one who appears to be improving, then the rest of the AL East and the rest of the league and the rest of baseball should be forewarned.

There are plenty of young stars in the big leagues right now. Sometimes people who don’t live in Boston don’t know that Devers is one of those stars. He is just 25 years old, two years younger than Ortiz was when he arrived in Boston. Daddy is gone. But Devers yes. I say it again: Keep an eye on him this season.