'It's going to be so fascinating': What Boston media has to say about Giants' Devers' return to Boston

Rafael Devers evolved into one of baseball’s best left-handed hitters during his time with the Boston Red Sox, earning three All-Star selections and helping them win the 2018 World Series. He also had a tumultuous final chapter that ended with him being traded to the Giants. And in San Francisco, he’s primarily played first base, the same position he declined to play in Boston.

This weekend marks Devers’ first return to Fenway Park since being traded in the middle of last season. Devers recently told this news organization he’s excited to return and that he appreciated the fan base’s support, but what kind of reception will Devers receive? Will he be mercilessly booed because of how things ended? Will he be showered with love because of what he accomplished?

Those who covered Devers’ tenure in Boston are curious to find out themselves.

“It’s going to be so fascinating,” said CBS Sports’ national baseball reporter Julian McWilliams, who previously covered the Red Sox for the Boston Globe. “He’s definitely turned into being this beloved figure who could do no wrong to somebody who I wouldn’t say is hated, but certainly polarizing.”

“I’m sure there will be some fans that support him because he had some good years here, but the way it ended, he was defiant, and I think a lot of people are going to put it on him,” said Tony Massarotti, host of Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Before the Giants acquired Devers on Father’s Day 2025, the Red Sox were the only team that Devers had known as a professional.

He signed with Boston as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic in 2013 and made his debut as a baby-faced 20-year-old in July 2017. Less than a month into his major league career, Devers announced himself to the baseball world at Yankee Stadium by hitting a game-tying, opposite-field home run off a 102.8-mph four-seam fastball from All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman. It was a sign of what was to come.

In 2018, the Red Sox won their fourth World Series of the millennium with Devers as their starting third baseman. In 2019, Devers broke out by hitting .311 with 32 homers, 115 RBIs and a .916 OPS. He earned three All-Star selections in 2021, 2022 and 2024, as well as a pair of Silver Slugger Awards.

“Rafi could not do any wrong because he was the kid of the group,” McWilliams recalled. “It was J.D. [Martinez], Mookie Betts [as the leaders]. There’s a clip of [former hitting coach] Tim Hyers where he’s saying, ‘I love baseball. All I have to do is hit, and they pay me.’ ”

Maintaining that “kid of the group” status was impossible after signing a 10-year, $313.5 million extension in January 2023. McWilliams noted that there was a shift in Devers’ personality after he signed his contract, the product of a shift in expectations. Soon enough, the boiling point arrived.

In February 2025, the Red Sox signed third baseman Alex Bregman. Bregman was the much better defender, but Devers didn’t want to move off third base. Eventually, Devers relented and became the team’s designated hitter. When first baseman Triston Casas suffered a season-ending injury in May, Devers declined to learn the position despite Boston’s dearth of options.

“That turned off a lot of people right there,” said Ian Browne, MLB.com’s Boston Red Sox beat reporter. “A lot of fans, I think a lot of teammates. Rafi didn’t seem to be pulling from the same rope anymore as the rest of his team.”

“The fact that he was unwilling to play first base here really soured a lot of fans on him,” Massarotti said. “There’s just something about a player being unwilling to change positions or make a sacrifice for the team that really turns the fan base against him. I think that happened with Devers.”

The Red Sox weren’t exactly blameless in the Devers saga, and the whole thing could’ve been avoided with better communication between player and franchise. Massarotti was among those critical of the organization at the time of the trade and saw the deal as merely a salary dump. Fan sentiment, though, started to shift when they saw what was happening in San Francisco.

While Devers wasn’t willing to play first base in Boston, he was more than willing to do so in San Francisco. Devers said during his introductory press conference that he’d play wherever the team wanted him to play, a clear departure from the hardline stance he had in Boston.

“When they announce the lineups, if they say, ‘Rafael Devers, first base,’ he’ll get booed,” Massarotti said. “That was a major, major strike against him, especially when he went out to San Francisco and was willing to do it. It was personal with the Red Sox, and he couldn’t get past that.”

“That then began the descent of how people viewed him,” McWilliams said. “[The fans] were like, ‘What? You’ll do what? You’re not going to just DH? We defended you as a DH.’ That was at the crux of their issues with him. … It was almost like they got hoodwinked.”

As far as comparable complicated homecomings, Browne evoked Manny Ramirez’s return to Fenway Park in 2010 after being traded from Boston to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008. The comparison isn’t a one-to-one (Ramirez was part of the 2004 World Series team that ended the 86-year championship drought), but Ramirez’s final days in Boston were even more tumultuous.

“Like Devers, Manny was kind of a polarizing figure who also had a little bit of a goofball quality,” Browne said. “Manny came back with the Dodgers, and I do think it was mostly cheers. There were definitely some boos because this is a guy who did worse things than Devers when he was in Boston. He flat-out quit on his team sometimes and refused to play baseball. He pretty much shotgunned his way out of town.”

McWilliams, Browne and Massarotti were all in agreement that Devers will receive a tribute video, something that the Red Sox have done for other members of the 2018 championship team. Maybe a trip down memory lane will quell some of the hard feelings. Or maybe, as was the case with Ramirez, some grudges need more time to fade.

“I’m really conflicted about this one,” Browne said. “Usually, it’s obviously all boos or all cheers, but this one is really tricky.”