Here’s what Rafael Devers wants the Red Sox to do before the MLB trade deadline
“Everybody knows what we need."
Boston Red Sox star Rafael Devers has a request for his team’s decision-makers ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline.
Red Sox
“Everyone knows what we need,” Devers told The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham on Sunday. “Hopefully we can get that in the next few days. We can’t control that as players. All we can do is give 100 percent on the field. But we need pitching.”
The Red Sox have been getting by with a patched-up rotation over the last few months. After beginning the season with seven possible starters, the Sox consistently find themselves with fewer than five at a given time. They recently announced that lights-out reliever Nick Pivetta will be re-joining the rotation for Monday’s game against the Mariners, and they still won’t have enough starters to avoid bullpen games.
Pitching is an obvious weakness for Boston. Devers believes that the team is competitive enough to add help in that area by making trades before Tuesday.
“This year is a much different story than last year,” Devers said. “We weren’t in a position to compete last year but this year we are.”
Good news is on the horizon. Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Chris Sale will all be returning from their stints on the injury list in the coming weeks. Still, Devers believes there is still more work to be done.
“We’re getting good players back,” Devers said. “I think we need a little help beyond that.”
Many pitchers, such as Jordan Montgomery, Lucas Giolito and even Max Scherzer have already been traded. But there’s still plenty of talent left, and Devers wants the Red Sox to make some moves before it’s too late.
In January, the Red Sox paid Devers over $300 million to be the face of their franchise for the next 11 years. In the first half of year one of his new contract, his team’s offense has helped Boston earn a 56-49 record, which currently stands 2.5 games back of an AL wild card berth.
“I think we’ve played good baseball and we’ve tried very hard,” Devers said. “We’ve been killing ourselves to be in the position we are in now.”
For how hard his team has fought for Boston, Devers hopes the Red Sox can return the favor by addressing its glaring need for a pitcher.
“We would like them to reward us with a few good players coming in before the deadline. I think that’s something we’re looking forward to.”
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