Top Red Sox bosses flew to Kansas City to meet with Rafael Devers

Red Sox owner John Henry club president Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow flew to Kansas City on Friday to speak with Rafael Devers following the slugger s explosive comments about not being willing to play first base Henry manager Alex Cora and Devers met prior to Friday s tournament against the Kansas City Royals and had what Cora described as a productive conversation Breslow did not speak to Devers prior to the tournament but mentioned he planned to and that he inferred Friday marked a good step forward We felt like it was major based on the situation that unfolded the day before today to come out here and have an honest conversation about what we value as an organization and what we believe is key to the Boston Red Sox and that s being great teammates for each other Breslow informed reporters in Kansas City per NESN s pregame coverage So we think we had a productive conversation John seems to have had a productive conversation and that s where things stand right now Devers made waves on Thursday when he revealed that following Triston Casas season-ending injury Breslow approached him and raised the possibility of playing first base Devers explained that wasn t something he was interested in doing especially right after he d already changed positions once earlier during the spring Henry did not speak to reporters in Kansas City but Cora mentioned it meant a lot to the company that the club s top decision-makers made the trip and that he expects there will be more conversations going forward He expressed his feelings John did the same thing and I think the majority significant thing here is we re trying to accomplish something big here Obviously there are changes in the roster and situations that happened and you have to adjust Cora stated That happens over and that s where we re at right now I think we re going to walk out of this in a much better place Breslow mentioned Cora explained the unit has not made any decision about Devers potentially playing first base and that those discussions will continue and for now they will stick with the original plan of platooning Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro at the position As for Breslow he described his initial conversation with Devers about playing the position as exploratory but that while it s unfortunate things played out the way they did he believes it s his job to do whatever he can to improve the organization There will be times where I believe acting in the best interests of the organization are going to be complicated and uncomfortable and I have to do it anyway Breslow explained That revealed given my playing experience I recognize these aren t easy asks to make especially for someone who has undergone a pretty substantial transition in roles over the last several months but a demanding conversation is not a reason to avoid it