Alex Cora Says Red Sox vs. Rafael Devers, Giants Will Feel 'Awkward' After Trade

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora admitted that it will "feel awkward" when the team visits ex-Boston third baseman/DH Rafael Devers and the San Francisco Giants for three games beginning Friday.

“Obviously different and it’s so recent,” Cora said, per Christopher Smith of Mass Live. “He’s going to do everything possible to kick our (expletive). And we’re going to do everything possible to do the same. That’s the business of it. The only thing is that it’s so recent it’s going to feel awkward. But I think both teams have a job to do. It’s play the game and try to win.”

The Red Sox traded Devers to the Giants last Sunday, ending his nearly 12 years with the organization after he signed with the franchise as a 16-year-old international free agent from the Dominican Republic in August 2013.

Devers played nine-plus years with the Red Sox, making three All-Star Games, earning two Silver Slugger awards and winning the 2018 World Series as Boston's starting third baseman.

Things have certainly been awkward post-trade, as there have been reports (pro-Red Sox/anti-Devers and pro-Devers/anti-Red Sox) emanating in the days after the blockbuster deal.

Per MassLive's Chris Cotillo, Devers felt like a "scapegoat" for the team's struggles.

"Devers felt like 'he received mixed messages from different voices in the organization,' a source close to him said, and that there was a 'disorganized approach to communicating expectations to their star player,'" Cotillo wrote. "As MassLive reported over the weekend, that's what led to a situation that people on both sides described as so 'unsalvageable' and 'untenable' that even an impromptu May 9 meeting with John Henry couldn't save things."

On the flip side, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported this on SportsCenter Monday.

"The Red Sox, though, are a very model heavy team right now. And the model said that a $250 million first baseman/DH who's going to be under contract through his age-36 season, who also has been a malcontent, who has not wanted to switch positions to first base and help out this year was not the type of person that they wanted to keep around."

And then there was the position issue. In San Francisco, Devers said he'll play any position where the team needs him.

That was not the case in Boston, where the team signed third baseman Alex Bregman last offseason.

Devers said he would not depart from third, although he later did and served as the team's DH. Boston later wanted Devers to head across the diamond to first base when Triston Casas suffered a season-ending ruptured left patellar tendon. However, Dever rejected that move.

So it's clear the two sides didn't depart on good terms, but regardless, they've all moved on. Devers has joined an NL West division race with the Giants chasing the Los Angeles Dodgers, while the Red Sox, who have won eight of 10, are looking to fight their way back into the postseason race.