Red Sox Pitcher Shares ‘Secret’ After Rafael Devers’ Blunt Comments

Rafael Devers’ recent remarks took on a life of their own, but seemingly no one in the Red Sox clubhouse was fazed by the comments.

Shortly after Boston signed Alex Bregman, Devers was very straightforward when he expressed a commitment to third base and a lack of interest in taking on a new position. Bregman himself had no problem with what his new teammate said and Devers wasn’t sure why his competitiveness and self-confidence were perceived in a negative light.

Lucas Giolito was similarly surprised by the amount of attention the remarks received. After all, the Red Sox are collectively working toward a common goal, and as Craig Breslow outlined last weekend, position battles take care of themselves.

“Yeah, no one really gives a (expletive) about that, because … I’ll let everybody in on a secret. We are employees, so if they tell somebody, ‘Oh, you’re playing here,’ all right. You know, at the end of the day, whatever helps the team win,” Giolito said on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast, as transcribed by Sports Illustrated.

“I was, like, kind of astounded when, you know, I saw what Raffy said and I was just kind of laughing, you know, like I joked about it with him. And then two days later, I’m like, ‘Jesus Christ.’ It’s like a bomb went off on the internet. I’m like ‘Damn, dude, no one here cares so much about that.'”

As Giolito noted, it’s ultimately up to Alex Cora to decide where his Red Sox players are positioned this season. The Boston manager will let spring training play out before making those calls, and then once he does, everybody in the clubhouse will need to buy in for the sake of reaching the ultimate goal.

And if Giolito’s anecdote is any indication, no Boston players will have a tough time doing that.