Rafael Devers explains why he is willing to play first base for the Giants but not the Red Sox

SAN FRANCISCO — Rafael Devers had a consistent mantra when he addressed the Boston media for the first time since his surprising trade from the Red Sox to the San Francisco Giants five days ago.

''The past is in the past,'' Devers said repeatedly Friday when asked about his time with the Red Sox and why the relationship deteriorated so much this season that the team traded him less than two years into a 10-year, $313.5 million contract he signed in 2023.

Devers did give one piece of insight when asked what he would tell Red Sox fans about why he is willing to play first base in San Francisco if he is asked after refusing to do so with the Red Sox when asked last month.

''I would say that I have put some good numbers up over in Boston,'' he said through an interpreter. ''I think that I do feel that I have earned some respect. If they would have asked me at the beginning of spring training, yes, I would have played (first).''

Devers had warm interactions on the field with his former teammates before the game, but had little success during it with an 0-for-5 night as the Giants lost to the Red Sox 7-5. He got a standing ovation before grounding out in his first at-bat in the first inning and hit a drive to the wall in left-center that Ceddanne Rafaela caught against the wall in the third.

''I really looked up to him when I was coming up,'' said Rafaela, who called Devers his big brother. ''It's always a pleasure for me to watch him play and watch him perform. It was fun.''

Devers' relationship with the Red Sox began to deteriorate when the team signed Gold Glove third baseman Alex Bregman during spring training and asked Devers to move to DH; he balked before agreeing to the switch. When first baseman Triston Casas sustained a season-ending knee injury, the Red Sox approached Devers about playing the field and he declined, saying the front office ''should do their jobs'' and look for another player.

A day after Devers' comments to the media about playing first, Red Sox owner John Henry, team president Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow flew to Kansas City to meet with Devers and manager Alex Cora.

Devers' stance didn't change and he was eventually traded to San Francisco. He said he wouldn't have done anything differently in his time in Boston.

''I put up good numbers over there,'' he said. ''I always gave my 100%.''

The Giants were happy to acquire Devers after striking out in their bid to sign a big bat for the middle of the lineup in free agency. Devers went 3 for 11 with two walks and an RBI in his first three games with San Francisco as a designated hitter.

He has started working out at first base and said he would be happy to play there as soon as he feels comfortable.

''Like I said in the past, that is not a position that you're going to learn how to play overnight,'' he said. ''I just have to continue that practice there.''

Devers said he is as happy as he has been in years in his first few days with the Giants and enjoyed the opportunity to see some of his friends on the Red Sox on Thursday night when the team arrived in town.

''It's been a few hectic days,'' he said. ''A long week it feels like. But I saw my friends yesterday, so, I was happy to be able to see them. I'm very happy.''

Devers said he didn't have ''anything good or bad to say" about Cora but said he would talk to him on the field this weekend when he had the chance.

Cora said it would be ''awkward'' to face Devers so soon after the trade but didn't think there was a need to clear the air about how his time in Boston ended.

''It's a trade. It's baseball. It's a business,'' Cora said. ''That's how it works. He's not the first guy that got traded. He's not the last guy who is going to get traded. People have their opinions about the whole thing: Communication, first base, DH, third base the manager, GM. the owners whatever. It's a baseball trade. From my end, I turned the page.''

Devers was 20 when he made his major league debut with the Red Sox in 2017. He helped the Red Sox win the 2018 World Series and led the team in RBIs for five consecutive seasons from 2020-24. He has finished in the top 20 in voting for AL MVP five times.

The Giants have lacked slugging since Barry Bonds hit 45 homers in 2004; they are the only team in the majors who have not had a batter hit 30 homers since. Devers has hit at least 30 homers three times.

Devers is not the first Red Sox All-Star to be traded away: The team sent Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers before the 2020 season in a salary dump -- just a year after he won the AL MVP award and led Boston to a franchise-record 108 wins and its fourth World Series title since 2004.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb