{"id":618955,"date":"2026-02-27T03:05:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T03:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/618955\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T03:05:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T03:05:15","slug":"david-ortiz-changes-his-tune-on-devers-after-previous-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/618955\/","title":{"rendered":"David Ortiz changes his tune on Devers after previous criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBoston Red Sox\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t“Things happen in the game. Other than that, that\u2019s my boy. That\u2019s a kid I got to meet when he was 15.”<\/p>\n

\"Boston
\n\tDavid Ortiz is changing his tune on Rafael Devers. Photo by Matthew J Lee\/Globe staff\t<\/p>\n

Red Sox legend David Ortiz didn\u2019t hold back last season when asked about Rafael Devers and the events that led to his shocking trade to the Giants in June 2025.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you were one of the third basemen last year who played the worst defense, and you\u2019re going to show up to training out of shape,\u201d Ortiz said on Instagram Live last summer<\/a> after Devers\u2019 fractured relationship with the Red Sox led to a deal. \u201cThey bring in a Gold Glove third baseman because of the deficit you had last year, and you say they\u2019re disrespecting you. No, man, that\u2019s not how you look at baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite those candid comments about the former Red Sox star, Ortiz appears to have changed his tone about Devers \u2014 based on his recent interview on the \u201cBaseball Isn\u2019t Boring\u201d podcast with WEEI\u2019s Rob Bradford.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t talked to him, but he talked to a friend of mine. I have so much love and respect for Devers,\u201d Ortiz told Bradford. \u201cThings happen in the game. Other than that, that\u2019s my boy. That\u2019s a kid I got to meet when he was 15. I\u2019m always going to cheer for him. I\u2019m always going to have love and respect for him, because he\u2019s a great player. Sometimes as a player we think we have everything figured out until somebody steps in and lets you know what\u2019s up.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what happened with him here, he learned from it. He took it as a lesson and that\u2019s just going to make him a better player and continue to be the beast he is. I\u2019m always wishing him the best. I love watching him hit. That\u2019s something that is unquestionable. I always wish him the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ortiz expressed frustration with Devers throughout the 2025 season after the former third baseman voiced his disapproval over getting knocked off the hot corner after Boston signed Alex Bregman in free agency.<\/p>\n

Things unraveled for both Devers and the Red Sox after starting first baseman Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury in early May. Despite the evident vacancy in Boston\u2019s infield, Devers refused to switch positions once again from DH to first base \u2014 eventually leading to his trade.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cHe needs to know that he\u2019s an important piece for this organization,\u201d Ortiz said of Devers in June 2025 ahead of the trade.<\/a> \u201cHe\u2019s doing what he was asked. But yeah, I think he should just think about what would be better for the organization, him at first or him as the DH, and go from there. But we have to give him some time.\u201d<\/p>\n

But with Devers now looking for a clean slate in San Francisco, it seems as if Ortiz also wants to turn the page.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cListen, even in the biggest family, [expletive] happens,\u201d Ortiz told Bradford.\u00a0 The baseball relationships you build with people it comes and it goes. But at the end of the day, it\u2019s nothing personal. It\u2019s nothing to hurt anybody\u2019s feeling. It\u2019s just the momentum that carries over during the season, during the games.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Profile\t<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.<\/p>\n

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Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Boston Red Sox “Things happen in the game. Other than that, that\u2019s my boy. That\u2019s a kid I…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":618956,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[41],"tags":[1266,62,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-618955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-sports","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116140384273652877","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=618955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/618956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=618955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=618955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}