Rafael Devers is looking for some help — from the front office of the Boston Red Sox.
With the Red Sox ramping up at the start of spring training, Devers made it clear Tuesday that he felt the franchise should have done more to improve the roster over the winter.
“They need to make an adjustment to help us players to be in a better position to win,” he said through a translator. “Everybody in this organization wants to win. We, as (players), want to win. I think they need to make an adjustment to help us win.
“I’m not saying that the team is not OK right now, but they need to be conscious of what are the (weaknesses) and what we need.”
Devers batted .271 with 33 homers and 100 RBI in 153 games last year, but Boston finished last in the loaded AL East with a 78-84 record. He finalized a 10-year contract with the Red Sox in January 2023 that is worth $313.5 million.
The Red Sox were mostly quiet over the winter. They signed right-hander Lucas Giolito to a $38.5 million, two-year contract, and acquired outfielder Tyler O’Neill and infielder Vaughn Grissom in a pair of trades. But they also shipped outfielder Alex Verdugo to the New York Yankees and parted with left-hander Chris Sale in the deal with Atlanta that brought in Grissom.
Boston ranked sixth in the majors last year with a .258 team batting average, and its OPS of .748 was ninth. But it had a 4.52 team ERA, ranking 21st in the majors.
“Everybody knows what we need,” Devers said. “You know what we need, and they know what we need. It’s just there’s some things that I can’t say out loud. But everybody that knows the organization and knows the game knows what we need.”
n The Red Sox signed Liam Hendriks, a 35-year-old free- agent right-hander, to a two-year contract with a mutual option for 2026.
Hendriks is the reigning American League comeback player of the year after returning to the mound on May 29, 2023, following being diagnosed with Stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in December 2022.
His 2023 season ended after only five appearances when he was placed on the injured list with right elbow inflammation on June 12. That led to Tommy John surgery on Aug. 2.
“It hasn’t been great,” he said of last season being shortened by the elbow injury. “I’ve been pitching through stuff, but that’s how it is. That’s what you’re paid to do, you pitch through stuff.”
RAYS: Infielder Yu Chang, who played with the Red Sox last season, signed a minor league contract.
Chang, 28, appeared in 39 games with the Red Sox in 2023, batting .162 with six homers and 18 RBI. He rejoins the Rays after playing 36 games with them two years ago, hitting .260 with three homers and 12 RBI.
n Tampa Bay and veteran infielder Amed Rosario agreed to a $1.5 million, one-year contract.
BREWERS: Right-hander Jakob Junis is guaranteed $7 million as part of his one-year contract.
Junis gets a $4 million salary this year, and the agreement includes an $8 million mutual option with a $3 million buyout.
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