Saying Rafael Devers is struggling to begin the 2025 MLB season would be an understatement. Not only is the Boston Red Sox slugger 0-for-16 at the plate through the first four games, he has struck out in 12 of them.
That's right -- Devers struck out on 75 percent of his at-bats in the opening series against the Texas Rangers. His 12 strikeouts are the most ever by a player through the first four games of a season, which is crazy when you consider pro baseball has been played for more than 125 years.
Devers also has two walks, including one with the bases loaded that drove in a run. He has put the ball in play just four times, three of which were groundouts.
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But wait, it gets worse.
Devers has swung and missed 31 times on 46 total swings for a whiff rate of 67.4 percent, per Baseball Savant. His career average is 27.7 percent.
Sheesh, Evo 🫣 pic.twitter.com/UpRQUur3Xj
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) March 27, 2025
Devers' inability to produce anything at the plate isn't just a problem affecting him. After scoring five runs to beat the Rangers on Opening Day, the Red Sox scored just six runs combined over the final three games (all losses) at Globe Life Field. Devers, as a $313 million man and two-time Silver Slugger winner, is being relied on to provide a bulk of the team's offense.
There's no way to sugarcoat Devers' start to the season. It's been very bad. But it's also too early to panic.
For starters, it's only four games. It's silly to draw too many conclusions from a four-game sample when each team plays 162 times each season.
Devers has actually been a decent early-season hitter throughout his career, so it wouldn't be surprising if he starts to turn things around pretty soon. He's a career .266 hitter in March/April, and that includes his 0-for-16 start to 2025. He hit 10 home runs in April of 2023.
There are several factors that could be contributing to this slump.
After playing third base most of his career and expecting to do that going forward after signing a huge extension, Devers was replaced at that position by free agent signing Alex Bregman in the offseason. Bregman is a former Gold Glove winner and much better defensively than Devers. Adjusting to full-time DH could take a little bit of time. It also appears that Devers' shoulder isn't 100 percent healthy.
Devers also had just 15 plate appearances in Spring Training. He's clearly behind where most other players are at this stage of the season. His timing at the plate looks off, too. His stance looks like it's wider than years past. All of these things can be fixed/addressed with more reps and video work. If being out of a shape is affecting him, that can be easily addressed as well.
One way to get Devers back on track is to have him hit his way out of this slump. Red Sox manager Alex Cora is putting Devers right back into the lineup Monday when Boston starts a three-game series against the Orioles in Baltimore.
Devers is way too talented to be this bad at the plate for a prolonged stretch. He should eventually figure it out. Remember when David Ortiz didn't hit his first home run in 2009 until May 26? That was 36 games into the season. He still finished that year with 28 homers.
It's way too early to panic over Devers' lack of production. If we're in May and Devers is still batting under .200 and not giving the Red Sox any power at the plate, then it would be time to really worry. But for right now, he just needs to put a few good at-bats together. All it takes is one or two good games to boost the confidence.