Not long ago, Rafael Devers used to be the heart and soul of the Boston Red Sox team. A key player who many thought would spend his entire career in a Red Sox uniform. Fans relied on him in crucial moments of the game. His powerful hits could hush a stadium or ignite Fenway Park with excitement. So when the team management decided to part ways with Devers during the offseason, it felt more than a roster change; it was a gut punch to a fanbase and a fracture that still hasn’t healed.

“In the end it was pretty clear that we couldn’t find alignment with [Devers], is the truth. We all worked at it over the last several months going back to the offseason. We had a different vision for him going forward than he had, and we couldn’t get there. We couldn’t find alignment, and we reached that inflection point and made the decision to make a big move,” Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy explained.

Fast forward to July, and the consequences of that decision are beginning to hit hard. Sure, Boston’s recent sweep of the flailing Nationals offered a short-term sugar rush, nudging them back over .500. But the larger picture is impossible to ignore. The Red Sox entered the year with 55% playoff odds, respectable, if not dominant. Today, those odds have cratered to 25.7%, and it’s not just the standings causing concern. It’s the missed leadership, the missing bat, and a lingering sense that this team traded away its anchor at exactly the wrong time.

Let that sink in. The team didn’t part with Rafael Devers because of declining performance or an overstuffed payroll. They let him walk at least in spirit because the organization couldn’t get its act together.

Even as Boston tries to write a new script, the past keeps leaking into the present. Ceddanne Rafaela has emerged as a bright spot; his power surge since May 27 includes 9 home runs and an OPS north of .950, ranking him behind only Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh in WAR during that stretch. It’s a stunning rise, and one the Sox desperately needed. But it’s also masking a larger issue: this team still can’t close.

Boston ranks near the bottom in late-game run differential, a stat that’s quietly wrecking their playoff bid. They hang in games, even lead them, but too often, the bullpen falters or the bats go silent. And in those tight moments, the void left by Rafael Devers becomes more obvious.

Alex Bregman’s potential return this week offers a glimmer of hope, but Boston’s margin for error is now painfully thin. The question isn’t whether they miss Devers; they do. It’s whether this team, as constructed, can rally around a new identity in time. Because right now, October is slipping further out of reach.

Cora reflects on Rafael Devers as Bregman’s return offers faint hope

Alex Cora didn’t mince words when asked about Rafael Devers. His tone carried more than just coach-speak; it carried the weight of a team trying to fill a void it never expected to have. “He means so much to that group, means so much to the organization, to the city of Boston,” Cora said last month, and it wasn’t a throwaway line. Devers wasn’t just a bat in the lineup; he was the emotional pulse of a team that now finds itself scraping for identity.

Cora’s moment of reflection comes at a time when Boston’s offense struggles in key situations. And the clubhouse with its young and talented yet inexperienced players seems to be in need of a leader to emerge. Enter Alex Bregman, who could return as early as this week. On paper, Bregman’s presence brings pedigree, experience, and a bat capable of flipping a game. But it’s the intangible impact the Sox are quietly counting on because what this team lacks right now isn’t just production, it’s balance.

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Still, relying on Bregman to single-handedly change the tone feels like a stretch. He’s a potential spark, not a cure-all. The Red Sox need more than a short-term boost; they need glue. And for now, that’s what Rafael Devers used to provide.

As Cora’s words hang in the air, a thought arises. Will this team come together with Bregman’s comeback? Or is it a temporary fix for a larger issue, at hand?