News about Rafael Devers

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole plunked Red Sox slugger Rafael Devers in the first inning of Saturday's loss in the Bronx, and Boston manager Alex Cora is convinced it was intentional. Devers saw four inside pitches Cole in his first at-bat on Saturday, the last of which caught a piece of the three-time All-Star. Then in the fourth, Cole intentionally walked Devers despite the fact that nobody was even on base. 'I wasn't surprised at all [about the intentional walk] because in the first at-bat I felt that [Cole] hit [Devers] on purpose,' Cora said after the Sox won, 7-1. 'He doesn't want to face him. That's the bottom line. He told us with the intentional walk that in the first at-bat he hit him. He hit him. ... We took exception to that.'

Major League Baseball said on Thursday that the two-time World Series champion will rest his left hand, which has been sore since he was hit by a 94.3 mph slider from a Twins pitcher on July 5. 'Obviously, we have a very important second half of the season that I really want to be healthy (for),' the star slugger before the All-Star game.

Both players will be re-evaluated ahead of Boston's second game against Cleveland on Tuesday. Devers is expected to return but O'Neill's status remains unclear. O'Neill, 28, has been one of Boston's most productive hitters early on this season. Coming into Monday's game, he had averaged .304/.448/.761 and seven homers. He went 1 for 2 with a walk before departing the field with injury. The Red Sox acquired O'Neill this past offseason from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for pitchers Victor Santos and Nick Robertson.

After being asked if he was dissatisfied with their offseason work, the third baseman sounded off. The Red Sox's front office revealed that they intend to invest in updating their roster. "But they [Red Sox's ownership] must make an adjustment to put us players in a better position to win," Devers told The Athletic, interpreting through an interpreter. Everybody in this company wants to win, and we as players want to win, and I think we must make a change in order to help us win.' 'Everybody knows what we need.' We know what we need and they know what we need. It's just some things I can't explain. I'm not allowed.'

Klutch Sports Group, the company that represents LeBron James and Jalen Hurts, will now look at household names in baseball. Klutch has signed Rep. 1, according to ESPN, whose roster includes around 40 MLB players. Rafael Devers, Brewers pitcher Devin Williams, and Guardians player Andres Gimenez are among them. Klutch was founded by Paul, the pop star's partner, more than a decade ago. He is now one of the most effective agents in sports.

We've arrived halfway through the 2023 Major League Baseball season, and the old rules haven't been followed. The Cardinals and Padres are a mess, the Marlins and Orioles are raging into the playoffs, and anyone who made a pre-season forecast of the Mets or Yankees is rubbing their eyes in disbelief. Two and a half months remain for teams to sort themselves out for the pennant chase, and as the regular season hits pause and MLB heads to Seattle for the All-Star Break, Mail Sport grades all 30 teams on their 2023 campaign so far:

Anthony Volpe, a rookie for the New York Yankees, brought the Bronx faithful to hysteria on Friday night with what some believed to be a walk-off home run against the Boston Red Sox. In the bottom of the ninth, the shortstop received a 3-2 bid from Red Sox Closet Kenley Jansen deep down on the left-field line, only to see the ball fall into foul territory. Volpe came out to put an end to the threat in the ninth inning as Boston defeated New York 3-2 in their first meeting of the season, thanks in large part to another Rafael Devers homer off Yankees starter Gerrit Cole.

Rafael Devers, a three-hitter, boosted the Boston Red Sox to a 7-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday after a three-run double to spark a five-run fourth inning. Rob Refsnyder of Boston ripped a two-run double, Christian Arroyo had a two-run single, and Reese McGuire of the Red Sox had an RBI single, giving them 59 runs during their eight-game winning streak. Bryce Harper and Trea Turner of Philadelphia each belted a solo homer to highlight their respective two-hit shows. Alec Bohm and Edmundo Sosa were among their two hits for the revolving Phillies, who lost six in a row.

In the ninth inning of Saturday night's game against the Boston Red Sox, Orioles outfielder Ryan McKenna dropped a quick, two-out fly, costing his team's victory. Masataka Yoshida's hit sailed to the middle of Fenway Park's deep left field, and McKenna strode slowly to his right, eager to make the grab for the final out of the game. The ball bounced off the palm of the 26-year-old's glove and crashed to the ground when it collided with the ground. The home crowd erupted in applause.

In his lone inning of work at the World Baseball Classic on Monday, a 21-year-old Nicaraguan pitcher struck out three of the game's most feared hitters before being fired by the Detroit Tigers with a minor league deal. In the ninth inning of Nicaragua's 6-1 loss to the Dominican Republic in Miami, Duque Hebbert, a 5-foot-9 righty, fanned All-Star sluggers Juan Soto, Julio Rodriguez, and Rafael Devers. Hebbert did give San Diego Padres a double but was nonetheless impressed by mixing a low-90s sinker, mid-80s tweakup, and low-90 sliders to break out the game. Hebbert tossed 19 pitches, totaling 14 strikers and three strikeouts. Soto, Mariners' Rodriguez, and Devers of the Red Sox all went down swinging.

Fans of the Red Sox will be thrilled as one of their brightest young stars has committed to live in Boston for the time being. Rafael Devers has agreed to an 11-year deal worth $331 million to remain with the Boston Red Sox, according to a person familiar with the deal. Since the company had not revealed the transfer, the individual spoke on condition of anonymity.

With an eye on a larger contract between the two sides next offseason, the Boston Red Sox have agreed to a one-year, $17.5 million contract with All-Star third baseman Rafael Devers. The contract helps the Red Sox prevent arbitration with Devers, who is one of the team's few remaining stars from its 2018 World Series championship. Since then, Boston has traded former MVP Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019 and then promise outfielder Andrew Benintendi to the Kansas City Royals, before allowing shortstop Xander Bogaerts and designated hitter JD Martinez to walk in free agency after the 2022 season. According to a person familiar with the transaction, the deal is worth $17.5 million because the team did not reveal the terms of the contract.

The news that Fenway Sports Group has put Liverpool up for auction has piqued excitement among Red Sox fans, who are hoping that the agreement will free up funds for their struggling team. FSG is currently the majority owners of Liverpool, the Red Sox, and the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, although they told The Athletic that they'd be willing to sell the Merseyside club 'under the right terms and conditions.' And though no contract has been reached yet, Red Sox fans are already salivating over what a potential sale could mean for their franchise.