Red Sox Owner John Henry Meeting With Rafael Devers Is Good Omen Amid Drama

Boston Red Sox owner John Henry is no longer taking a hands-off approach in 2025, and that's to everyone's benefit.

Henry not only greenlit the Red Sox upping their payroll this season, but he's been more visible as a face of the team, not to mention he personally got involved in the team's pursuit of Alex Bregman. Now, he's stepping in as the man Bregman displaced has stirred up drama.

On Thursday, Red Sox designated hitter Rafael Devers aired out his grievances about chief baseball officer Craig Breslow asking him to move to first base in the wake of Triston Casas' season-ending injury. It was a bad look for Devers, Breslow, and the entire Red Sox organization.

According to multiple reports, Henry, CEO Sam Kennedy, and manager Alex Cora met with Devers in person before the Red Sox's game Friday night in Kansas City. Breslow was not present in the meeting, but he detailed Henry's involvement.

“It’s probably wise for some of these matters to stay between John and Raffy but my understanding is that it was productive dialogue,” Breslow said, per MassLive's Chris Cotillo. “There was honest exchange by both sides. I think we’re gonna walk out of this in a much better place.”

“Based on how things very publicly unfolded yesterday, there was an opportunity to address this and reinforce what we think is important, what has been important to this ownership group, what’s important to players, staff and the front office. We were able to do that and obviously, Raffy is a really big, important part of this team. I think it’s important these things get addressed."

Henry and Kennedy meeting with Devers doesn't necessarily mean a move to first base is imminent. But Devers and the organization haven't been on the same page all season, dating back to before the Bregman signing, when he felt he was being misled about his chances of keeping the third base position.

It's best for the team if Devers plays first base, and in a perfect world, he would have come to Cora and asked to do it. But there are complicated emotions involved here, and now there's a mess to clean up after Devers put the organization on blast in the most public of forums.

Still, Henry's presence is a reminder of much bigger things. The Red Sox finally expect to be a good team again in 2025. A playoff team, perhaps even a World Series contender. No player's agenda is more important than the team's, even if that player got a $300 million contract.