One Red Sox player reportedly told Rafael Devers to ‘just stop talking’ during postgame remarks (2025)

Red Sox

“One reporter told me, though, that one of them said to ‘just stop talking.’”

By Kaley Brown

May 9, 2025 | 7:20 PM

2 minutes to read

The Red Sox are making headlines in the sports world, and not for good reason.

Rafael Devers fielded questions for the first time about potentially playing first base in place of the injured Triston Casas following Thursday’s 5-0 win against the Rangers. Through a translator, he called out chief baseball officer Craig Breslow for asking him to play the position after making the move to designated hitter from third base upon Boston signing Alex Bregman this past offseason.

According to MassLive’s Christopher Smith, one of Devers’s teammates called the player out mid-interview for publicly airing his grievances.

“One reporter told me, though, that one of them said to ‘just stop talking.’ I didn’t hear that. Somebody, while Rafael Devers, continuing to answer questions, somebody just said, ‘just stop talking,’” Smith said on “Foul Territory” Friday.

Additionally, other unnamed players were similarly displeased with how things played out in the clubhouse, Smith said.

“We’ve also, at MassLive, learned that a couple players were, veteran players, players that have been around the league a long time, were not happy with the situation, with his inflexibility, and also the way that he brought it up publicly,” he said. “As I said, I didn’t hear that player directly. That’s what I was told, and a couple reporters were talking about it.”

It’s an ugly situation for the Red Sox that dates back to the beginning of the year. Devers was initially against moving off third base to play DH, but eventually agreed to the switch. He had a slow start to the season at the plate, but has since found his swing.

Days before Devers’s comments, manager Alex Cora shut down the possibility of asking the player to play first base. Then, the next day, Cora left the door open for Devers to field the position.

It appears Cora and Breslow weren’t on the same page in this situation, given Devers’s remarks.

Smith said the player’s stance is unrelatable to Boston fans and his teammates alike.

“There’s not many fans in Boston making $300 million. You can not understand [sic] the fact that whatever job you’re doing, usually when you’re asked to change or do something else, you have to say ‘yes,’” Smith said. “There’s a team aspect to it, too. There’s a team aspect of, he’s not being a good teammate. I know that there’s players who are frustrated in the clubhouse. There were players listening in yesterday as we were asking questions, and they were frustrated at him.

“… So yes, it’s very unrelatable. … It’s very unrelatable to not only the fans, but also to his teammates who want to win and they need a first baseman. And there’s no one in the Red Sox minor league system right now who can come up and play first base.”