Playing nine innings while wondering if the upcoming Netflix docuseries will change current perceptions of any Red Sox players…
1. It would have been swell if Rafael Devers’s reaction to the Red Sox signing of Gold Glove third baseman Alex Bregman had been, “Welp, looks like ol’ Raffy here is about to be Boston’s best damned designated hitter since David Ortiz,” rather than his actual response, a casually defiant “I play third base.” But as colleague Peter Abraham noted in his column with his usual clear-eyed perspective, Devers’s reaction is understandable. He’s a proud and accomplished prime-of-career player who was told he would remain at the position when he signed his 10-year contract extension in January 2023.