Red Sox-Rafael Devers Saga Reaches Conclusion With Giants Star's 1st Base Decision

"They can't expect me to play every single position out there."

That was former Boston Red Sox slugger Rafael Devers back on May 8, less than a week after his team's starting first baseman, Triston Casas, tore the patellar tendon in his left knee. It was the continuation of a feud between player and team over positions, communication, and respect.

Two months later, Devers plays for the San Francisco Giants. And on Tuesday, he'll put on a glove in a game for the first time all season and play his first career game at first base.

Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle published the Giants' lineup, which has Devers batting third and playing first.

The explosive comments Devers made when he refused to play first base for the Red Sox were one thing ("I'm not certain what he has with me," he said of chief baseball officer Craig Breslow), but it's even been a saga since his arrival with the Giants.

Giants legend Will Clark said he was asked to work on defensive fundamentals with Devers during the series against the Red Sox the week after the trade, but Devers never came onto the field before any of the three games.

Clark clarified that he wasn't upset with Devers for refusing to do the drills in front of his old team, but threatened to grab him "by the neck" and drag him to first base to put the work in the next time he came to San Francisco (it was quite something, truly).

We don't need to rehash the entire Devers situation and assign blame today. Everyone likely has their opinion about who was at fault for the breakdown in trust, and the same goes for opinions on whether or not the trade was the right move for the team.

But seeing Devers wear a first base mitt only two months after he very publicly refused to do so will be hard to stomach for many. Whether that manifests in anger, sadness, or relief that he's no longer the Red Sox's problem, the fact is that if Devers had done for his old team what he's doing for San Francisco on Tuesday, he'd still be in Boston.

Meanwhile, the Giants will try to break a six-game losing streak, as they fight to stay in the Wild Card chase in the National League. Devers has slumped to the tune of a .667 OPS since he debuted in San Francisco.

It's a night that marks the end of Devers' positional saga for the Red Sox, but his story in San Francisco is still barely beginning to take shape.