Devers left the game shortly before the 11th inning with Romy Gonzalez takes third place.
To say Devers’ late-season decline was shocking would be an understatement, and to call it odd doesn’t do justice to the extent of his problems.
“Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Cora said Friday afternoon. “Even yesterday he had a batting run where he kind of visualized his load.”
“He knows what’s going on and where he stands. And he misses sometimes, and he’s surprised that happened to him.”
Devers never uses injuries to justify his play. He’s not the type to subtly hint that he has “injuries” or is feeling the strain of the season. It stayed that way until he finally felt like he couldn’t play anymore.
Considering Devers is one of the most powerful hitters in the game, his recent numbers show a player who has struggled greatly due to injuries.
At the end of July, Devers had a slash average of .302/.380/.599 with a .979 OPS and 24 home runs. However, since the beginning of August, through Friday, Devers had only a batting average of .204/.292/.331 with a .623 OPS and was able to add just four home runs to his total.
Teams have been chasing him with four-seam fastballs, and Devers hasn’t been able to adjust. Before Friday, Devers had faced 115 four-seam fastballs since the start of August and missed 52 of them.
By comparison, Devers has seen nearly four four-seam fastballs per at-bat and swung through nearly half of them, posting a 48.4 percent strikeout rate.
Before August, Devers missed 82 of the 244 four-seamers he saw and posted a much lower strikeout rate of 35.2 percent with that pitch. During that time, Devers also posted a .314 batting average with a .857 slugging average and 10 home runs.
However, since other top-notch third basemen in the league have likely helped secure their club’s ticket to the postseason – like Manny Machado for the Padres, or Jose Ramirez for the Guardians – Devers slacked when the Sox needed him most.
The Sox now have a clear answer to the question of why.
“The team is circling him,” Cora said. “He’s our guy. That’s never happened before, you know. And the thing about him, we were just at a hitters’ meeting and he’s always encouraging everybody, like, ‘We have to do this. We have to do this.’
“He helps with game planning, but that hasn’t translated to the field. That’s not happening at the moment.”
Despite struggling, Devers still had an impressive season with a batting average of .272/.354/.482 and an OPS of .870.
“I am super proud of him,” said Trevor Story“I’m proud to call him my teammate. He’s the face of the franchise. He comes out here and does everything, man.”
“He’s banged up. He’s been banged up for a long time, and I think everyone knows that. But he’s out here playing, man. He wants to win. He sets the tone for everyone to look up to.”
Season over for Refsnyder
Rob Refsnyder was placed on the 10-day injured list on Friday with a strained right forearm, ending the outfielder’s season.
Refsnyder hit .283/.359/.471 with an .830 OPS and a career-high 11 home runs in 93 games. Yet Refsnyder has only appeared in three games since September 9, collecting just two at-bats, both of which ended in strikeouts.
To fill Refsnyder’s spot on the active roster, infielder Vaughn Grissom was recalled from Triple A Worcester.
Grissom, who in the Chris Sales Trade, has had countless setbacks this season, starting with a hamstring strain, a bout of stomach flu, and another hamstring strain that forced the Sox to keep him in Worcester as he missed much of the spring and didn’t have time to get back into shape.
The infielder got off to a slow start in Worcester but seems to have found his rhythm, posting a batting average of .366/.489/.549 with 18 walks in his last 90 at-bats.
Hendriks return questionable
Liam Hendriks (Tommy John) received a cortisone shot in his elbow on Monday, but he’s still not throwing. With only eight games left, his season is likely over, Cora said … Luis Garcia (elbow) will probably be activated on Saturday … Hendriks and his wife, Kristiwere honored on the field for Hendriks’ nomination for the Roberto Clemente Award.
You can reach Julian McWilliams at [email protected]. Follow him @vonJulianMack.
