BOSTON – The Boston Red Sox placed third baseman Rafael Devers on the injured list Saturday because of left shoulder inflammation, effectively ending his season.
Devers left Friday’s game with right shoulder soreness and underwent an MRI of both shoulders Saturday morning. When reporters met with manager Alex Cora before the game, the team did not yet have the MRI results, but Cora did not strike an optimistic tone.
“There’s no point in putting pressure on him,” Cora said. “It’s always good to finish the season active, but just watching him and the way he goes about it, he’s probably going to end up on the injured list anyway.”
Devers has battled pain and inflammation in both shoulders all season. He injured his right shoulder on a swing in spring training and then injured his left shoulder on a dive in Colorado shortly after the All-Star break. The 27-year-old has not been on the injured list for any of his shoulder injuries, but missed 16 games this season as the Red Sox treated his pain at certain times. He also missed a few games in the spring after a collision with Tyler O’Neill.
Cora said Devers had not mentioned any shoulder pain before Friday, but his punching speed had dropped and he admitted the pain returned as he worked in the cage before Friday’s game and tried some mechanical adjustments.
“(The pain) came and went for a while, sometimes more, sometimes less, then there was nothing left, then (on Friday) it got worse,” said Cora.
Cora appreciated Devers’ willingness to continue playing despite pain as the team fought for a postseason spot, but recognized that at a certain point, this led to diminishing returns.
“I think Trevor (Story) said it best: To set an example, you have to play, and that’s what you do as a major league player,” Cora said. “You have to take pride in posting, and the one who really helped (Devers) do that was Xander (Bogaerts). He always found ways to play, and that’s what he did.”
In 138 games this season, Devers posted a .272 batting average with an .870 OPS, 28 home runs and 34 doubles. However, since August 21, he has been on a dismal streak, posting just a .167 batting average with 29 strikeouts and one home run.
Devers made the All-Star team for the third time this summer, but decided not to play to rest his shoulder.
“Disappointed, because he’s basically our offense,” Cora said. “He’s the guy. And especially in the last month, it’s been hard to watch him.”
To fill his spot on the roster, the Red Sox have brought back infielder Mickey Gasper. Cora said Nick Sogard and Romy Gonzalez will split time at third baseman in Devers’ absence, while Vaughn Grissom will play most of the time at second baseman during the final week or so of play.
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(Photo: Luke Hales/Getty Images)
