Rafael Devers returns from Globe Baseball Classic

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Rafael Devers, in spite of a disappointing overall performance in the Globe Baseball Classic from an person and a group standpoint, was all smiles upon returning to Red Sox camp on Friday.

Representing the Dominican Republic on an international stage for the 1st time is some thing Devers will under no circumstances neglect.

“It was a good practical experience, a actually superior practical experience for me,” Devers stated. “I’m quite content that I had the chance to represent my nation. The games had been quite, quite intense, quite motivational for me, and I felt content to be in a position to represent my nation.”

The Dominican Republic was favored by numerous to win the Classic but as an alternative got knocked out of Pool D with a two-two record, losing to Venezuela and Puerto Rico. Devers, who served as the cleanup hitter and DH for a squad that had Manny Machado at third base, went two-for-16 with two walks and no RBIs.

“Those items take place. I can go -for-20 or -for-30,” Devers stated. “That’s baseball. For me, I am confident about my capacity and what I can do, the items that I can do on the field. I am actually calm. I am not actually considering also substantially into it. It is not like I went two-for-16 and I forgot how to hit or something like that. It just occurred in that tournament. I nevertheless have the similar self-assurance as just before I left the camp.”

If the overall performance by Devers was forgettable, there had been components of the practical experience that the left-handed-hitting slugger will try to remember for a extended time. What stood out the most was the electric crowd in Miami.

“There was a moment exactly where I could not hear anyone beside me,” Devers stated. “That’s a actually wonderful moment for us as players, when you have so numerous men and women cheering for you and be as loud as they had been.”

Watching Machado — an elite defender at third base — go about his business enterprise was definitely a bonus for Devers.

“Of course I discovered a lot from Manny Machado. He’s a single of the finest third basemen, if not the finest third baseman, appropriate now in the game,” Devers stated. “Just watching him going about his business enterprise and playing, you find out a lot. It was a quite superior moment for me.”

The moments he got to bond with other stars from his nation was a further perk of the practical experience.

“It was a good practical experience to be in a position to share a clubhouse with these guys, with [Juan] Soto, with Machado, with Jeremy Peña. These are guys that you would like to share your clubhouse with or your group with at any moment, and it was a actually good practical experience for me,” Devers stated.

Now that he is back in camp, the Red Sox will need him to get the reps at third base that he missed when backing up Machado. Devers will begin Saturday’s household game at the hot corner against the Orioles. Soon after a day off Sunday when the Red Sox go to Clearwater to play the Phillies, Devers will play the subsequent 3 days.

“Just for him to get his repetitions at third base is vital for us. It is quite vital,” stated Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “Today he took ground balls with [infield instructor] Carlos [Febles] on the back fields. As far as the at-bats, he’s likely readier than any one else right here. Repetitions at third base — just standing up more than there for 5 or six innings, seven innings — is vital for his conditioning also. Certainly we’ve got him right here now, and we’ll make confident he’s prepared for the season.”

Whilst Devers currently proved in the 2018 and ‘21 postseasons that he embraces playing on the significant stage, the Classic was a unique sort of particular for the 26-year-old.

“It wasn’t the finest a single for him of course, but to be about these guys and speak to them and the way he talks about these games, the intensity from pitch a single all the way to the finish, it is a superior mastering practical experience,” Cora stated. “It’s a enjoyable a single, and [he] checked that box. We’ll see what occurs [next World Baseball Classic], but at least he can say he represented his nation and now he’s with us.”