SO SAD: Rafael Devers announce that won’t be racing in this season again due to his health conditi…..
Just how bad is Rafael Devers’ shoulder? Frankly, this is one of the weirdest injuries I can ever remember. We have been told literally all season long that Devers’ shoulder is bothering him, yet he hasn’t gone on the IL once and has put together one of the most productive seasons of his entire career. Now, after missing several crucial games last week, he is clearly not right at the plate. Whatever it is that’s wrong with him, let’s hope it’s managed better next year. (Julian McWilliams, Boston Globe)
And maybe Raffy needs a mental health check-in, too. After last night’s loss to the Mets, he reportedly sat quietly at his locker, holding his bat and staring straight ahead for 40 minutes. That’s. . . not normal behavior. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)
But at least he hasn’t been as banged up as Trevor Story, who is desperately trying to return to the big leagues before the season ends. And even though Story has yet to play nine full innings of baseball in the field, he could potentially return to the Red Sox as early as this weekend. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)
Maybe the forthcoming return of Story is why Kutter Crawford was so outspoken about still believing in this team’s ability to make the postseason. (Gayle Troiani, NESN)
Or maybe it’s a lineup shake-up that’s giving Kutter hope. For tonight’s game, Alex Cora is expected to return Jarren Duran to the leadoff spot and bat Devers second in an attempt to revive what has become a moribund lineup. (Bill Ladson, MLB.com)
But, sadly for Kutter, most fans have already started thinking about next year. On that front, there is some good news, and the Red Sox landed six players in the latest Baseball America Top 100 prospect rankings, including four players in the top-26 alone, with Roman Anthony being ranked the second-best prospect in all of baseball: Roman Anthony (2), Marcelo Mayer (11), Kristian Campbell (25), Kyle Teel (26), Braden Montgomery (61), Franklin Arias (94). (Baseball America)
