Rafael Devers is not making many friends in San Francisco. And Sunday afternoon, he gave Giants fans more reason to roll their eyes.
Devers led off the top of the ninth with a walk against the Miami Marlins. The Giants trailed 2-1. Manager Tony Vitello made the call to send Jonah Cox in as a pinch runner. Devers, who is not exactly a burner on the bases, had other ideas. Or at least he acted like he did.
Video from the broadcast shows Devers waving Cox back toward the dugout as Cox jogged toward first base. Cox stopped. Devers kept gesturing. The umpires stepped in and made it clear the substitution was official. Only then did Devers finally leave the bag and let Cox take over.
It was awkward. It was unnecessary. And it did not help.
The Giants went down in order in the ninth. Willy Adames grounded into a double play to end it. San Francisco lost 2-1.
Devers has a history of this stuff
This is not a one-time thing. Devers forced his way out of Boston in part because he refused to move to first base when the Red Sox asked him to. He wanted to stay at third. The Red Sox wanted him to be flexible. He dug in. The relationship soured. Eventually, Boston traded him to San Francisco before the 2025 season.
Since arriving in the Bay Area, Devers has not hit like the guy who once mashed 30-plus homers for the Red Sox. He has been okay, not great. And his body language has been a talking point all season. Sunday’s little show on the basepaths just added to the narrative.
Fans on social media let him have it. Multiple posts on X called the move embarrassing. Some said it made Vitello look like he does not have control of the clubhouse. Others said Devers looked like a guy who cares more about his own stats than winning.
Does Vitello have a problem on his hands?
This is Tony Vitello’s first year managing in the big leagues. He came over from the college ranks after winning a national title at Tennessee. The Giants hired him to bring energy and accountability. But if a player waves off a pinch runner in a one-run game and nobody on the coaching staff stops it before it becomes a scene, that is a bad look.
Devers is owed a lot of money. He has a track record. But he also has a rep now — one that says he does not always put the team first. The Giants are not a lock for the playoffs. They need every win they can get. If Devers keeps acting like he is above basic baseball strategy, the fan base is not going to let it slide.
Cox took over at first. He never scored. The game ended. But the clip of Devers throwing a fit over a pinch runner is going to live on for a while.
Leave a Comment