The Giants introduced newly acquired superstar Rafael Devers to the media at Oracle Park on Tuesday, hours before his much-anticipated club debut in their series opener against the Guardians. Devers emphatically answered the question on everyone’s mind, saying he would play wherever the Giants ask him to.
After tensions about his positional role in Boston, Devers has reportedly already expressed his willingness to serve in multiple roles for the Giants, which manager Bob Melvin confirmed on Tuesday afternoon.
“He told us, ‘I’ll play wherever you want me to play, I’ll hit wherever you want me to hit,’” said Melvin. “He’s going to DH today, hit in the three-spot. We’re going to work him in and get him some ground balls at first and make sure he’s comfortable before we put him over there. That’s pretty much the way we’re looking at it right now, a little bit of DH, a little bit of first.”
No matter where Devers is on the field, the Giants realize they are adding a slugging force to their lineup.
“Today’s a great day for the San Francisco Giants and for the city of San Francisco,” said Giants President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey. “Great players have the ability to transcend generations, and Rafael Devers is one of those players.”
Wearing a new number -- 16, because his old No. 11 is already retired by the Giants in honor of Carl Hubbell -- he opened with gratitude for the Red Sox, despite the turbulent end to his career in Boston, before quickly looking ahead to his future in San Francisco.
“First of all, I just want to thank the Boston Red Sox organization for signing me at 16 and giving me the opportunity to become a big leaguer,” he said via translator, Giants’ director of Hispanic Communications and Marketing Erwin Higueros. “I’m happy to be here with the San Francisco Giants, obviously happy to represent Latin America, and also happy to be able to meet Barry Bonds.”
Bonds was, in fact, present for the introductory press conference, as were the majority of Devers’ new teammates and clubhouse staff. The Giants have not had a 30-homer hitter since Bonds in 2004, but Devers certainly has a chance to end that drought.
Although asked about the last few months of his Red Sox tenure, during which time his relationship with the organization publicly deteriorated over the positional disagreements, he largely chose not to comment: “I’m moving forward from the situation in Boston, moving ahead as a San Francisco Giant, and [I’m] just going to compete.
“I just want to thank the Boston fans. They supported me throughout my whole time there, and I just want to [tell] them, ‘Thank you.’”