Things have been weird in Boston! Much has been said and shouted about Rafael Devers after his sudden exit from the Red Sox. But now, just days after that shocking trade that sent a franchise face to the Giants, the story has taken a sharp turn—and well, a certain tidbit is spreading like wildfire.

First, it was reported that Devers felt “lied and betrayed” by the Red Sox. The Red Sox ownership did try to fix the relationship between the two parties, but things only went worse when Devers publicly badmouthed Craig Breslow, Boston’s chief baseball officer. “I don’t understand some of the decisions that the GM makes,” Devers said after he was requested to play first base.

Multiple reports also suggested that the 28-year-old slugger was frustrated over Kristian Campbell’s willingness to move to first base. It’s a position he refused to consider, and that stirred up tension in the clubhouse. The narrative pointed out that Devers’ ego had gotten in the way of the team’s harmony, and so ultimately, the rigid unwillingness to change led to this breakup. However, that story was shut down by Campbell very quickly, calling it ‘false’ flat out. But while that anti-Devers narrative shut down, the heat around him didn’t fade. Because David Ortiz, in fact, just made the entire debacle even hotter.

Big Papi, just a day or two after the trade, didn’t waste time mincing words—he was not afraid to show he is the team’s front office here. “To have something like this in Boston, you can’t just be a hitter. You have to be the full package… Go Sox,” said Ortiz. Well, the writing is all over the wall, isn’t it? But here is the latest that takes this feud to a whole other level. Ortiz mentioned, “Devers disrespected the Red Sox and his teammates by arriving at spring training out of shape. That’s why no Red Sox player has come out to defend him.” And oh, he’s got receipts!

Ortiz even showed an image of him texting Rafael Devers, and him not responding to any of his texts. Could that be the reason for this sudden rift? Because honestly, it is quite surprising because things have gone downhill extremely fast. Just during the spring training, when there was talk about giving Alex Bregman the position Devers held, Big Papi had come to Devers’ rescue. He always mentioned how marquee a player he is. So this change of loyalty is certainly evident.

Ortiz had earlier even gone as far as to mention that sometimes ego comes in the way of players. And openly supported the front office by saying that, “Nobody is indispensable. … You need to be smart and you need to understand the situation. Your worst enemy is your ego.” For him, it’s not been flowers with him and the franchise, but at the end of the day, it’s work, and everyone is just an employee. But seems like Devers is taking all his chatter with a pinch of salt.

Rafael Devers keeps his cool as Big Papi throws shade

Rafael Devers was one of the best hitters for the Boston Red Sox. And for many, there was a sense of disrespect in how he, as a cornerstone of the team, was treated. Not been told that Alex Bregman was there to get his position. And then later, even asked to be moved to a different position when Triston Casas went down with a season-ending injury. However, Devers has kept his calm through it all.

In fact, even about the back-to-back comments by Ortiz on him, he has been cool as ever. Devers, referring to all of Ortiz’s comments, told the Boston Globe, “I love Papi. I know he loves the media. He can say anything he wants.” And maybe he has remained so quiet through it all because he wanted his bat to do the talking. And voila—it did! Rafael Devers, the three-time All-Star, belted his first home run as a member of the San Francisco Giants. And the pièce de résistance?

It was against the Boston Red Sox.

It happened on Saturday at Oracle Park. He stopped in against Boston’s right-hander Brayan Bello in the third inning. And after taking a strike down the middle, he saw the same pitch and unloaded a 105.5 MPH rocket to left field that went 370 feet. This was not just a home run but a message. One was caught poetically by a fan who was wearing a Red Sox t-shirt.

And the crowd went ballistic, and as Devers rounded the bases for his 216th career homer, the moment felt personal.