BOSTON (AP) — Rafael Devers is the Boston Red Sox's designated hitter.
And he's not interested in another position switch.
Speaking with reporters for the first time since Triston Casas was ruled out for the season after rupturing his left knee tendon and undergoing surgery, Devers said on Thursday that Red Sox management approached him about the idea of filling in as Boston’s first baseman.
The three-time All-Star doesn’t see it in his best interest to make another position switch after being asked to move from third base to DH during spring training after the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman to play third.
“They came to me and talked to me about it,” Devers said after homering and driving in two in Boston’s 5-0 win over Texas.
“I know I’m a ballplayer, but at the same time, they can’t expect me to play every single position out there. In spring training, they talked to me and basically told me to put away my glove. I wasn’t going to play another position other than DH. Right now, I don’t think it would be an appropriate decision by them to ask me to play another position.”
Devers, who signed a $311 million, 11-year deal to stay with Boston in January 2021, said he spoke with Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow about the prospect of playing first in Casas’ absence.
For now, Boston is filling the first base spot with a platoon featuring Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro.
“He (Breslow) played ball. I would like to think that he knows that changing positions isn’t easy,” Devers said through Red Sox interpreter Daveson Perez.
“They put me in this situation. They told me they didn’t want me to play any other positions."
Devers offered a suggestion to Breslow, who pitched 12 major league seasons and was a key member of Boston’s bullpen when the team won the World Series in 2013. Breslow is in his second season leading the Red Sox baseball operations department.
“Now, they should do their jobs essentially and hit the market and look for another player. I’m not sure why they want me to be an in-between,” Devers said. “Next thing you know, someone in the outfield gets hurt and they want me to play in the outfield. I know the kind of player that I am and that’s where I stand.”
Asked about changing his mind in the event the Red Sox receive little production from the current group of first basemen, Devers reiterated that he’s a full-time DH.
He also stated that he was upset that Boston would consider him taking over a position where he’s logged zero innings as a big leaguer.
“They told me that I’m a little hard-headed, but they already asked me to change (positions) once. This time, I don’t think I can be as flexible,” Devers said. “I don’t feel they stayed true to their word. They told me I was going to play this position, DH. Now they’re going back on that.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Boston Red Sox's Jarren Duran, left, crowns teammate Rafael Devers with a "Wally the Green Monster" head that the team uses for their celebration after a home run following Devers' homer in the seventh inning baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Thursday May 8, 2025 in Boston. (AP Photo/Jim Davis)
Boston Red Sox's Alex Bregman, left, congratulates teammate Rafael Devers, right, after his home run in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers on Thursday May 8, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Jim Davis)
Boston Red Sox's Rafael Devers, right, is all smiles as he heads to the dugout after after hitting a home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Jim Davis)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Lamar Jackson thought it was over. That the Baltimore Ravens' unwieldy season would end up in a familiar spot: the playoffs.
Then, rookie kicker Tyler Loop's potential game-winning field goal from 44 yards out drifted a little right. And then a little further right. And then a little further right still.
By the time it fluttered well wide of the goalposts, the playoffs were gone. So was Jackson's certainty after a 26-24 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday night sent the Ravens into what could be a turbulent offseason.
“I'm definitely stunned, man,” Jackson said. “I thought we had it in the bag. ... I don't know what else we can do.”
Jackson, who never really seemed fully healthy during his eighth season as he battled one thing after another, did his part. The two-time NFL MVP passed for 238 yards and three touchdowns, including two long connections with Zay Flowers in the fourth quarter that put the Ravens (8-9) in front.
It just wasn't enough. Baltimore's defense, which played most of the second half without star safety Kyle Hamilton after Hamilton entered the concussion protocol, wilted against 42-year-old Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers passed for a season-high 294 yards, including a 26-yard flip to a wide-open Calvin Austin with 55 seconds to go after a defender slipped, symbolic of a season in which Baltimore's defense only occasionally found its form.
Still, the Ravens had a chance when Jackson found Isaiah Likely for a 28-yard gain on fourth down from midfield. A couple of snaps later, the 24-year-old Loop walked on to try to lift Baltimore to its third straight division title.
Instead, the rookie said he “mishit” it. Whatever it was, it never threatened to sneak between the goalposts.
“It’s disappointing,” Loop said.
Loop was talking about the game. He might as well have been talking about his team's season.
The Ravens began 1-5 as Jackson dealt with injuries and the defense struggled to get stops. Baltimore found a way to briefly tie the Steelers for first in late November, only to then split its next four games, including a home loss to Pittsburgh.
Still, when Jackson and the Ravens walked onto the Acrisure Stadium turf on Sunday night in the 272nd and final game of the NFL regular season, Baltimore was confident. The Ravens drilled Pittsburgh in the opening round of the playoffs a year ago behind the ever-churning legs of running back Derrick Henry.
When Henry ripped off a gain of 40-plus yards on the game's first offensive snap, it looked like it was going to be more of the same. While Henry did rush for 126 yards and joined Hall of Famer Barry Sanders as the only running backs in NFL history to have five 1,500-yard seasons, he was less effective in the second half.
Even that first run was telling of what night it was going to be, as an illegal block by wide receiver Zay Flowers cost Baltimore some field position. The Ravens ended up scoring on the drive anyway, thanks to a 38-yard fourth-down flip from Jackson to a wide-open Devontez Walker, but it started a pattern that was hard to shake as several steps forward were met with one step back on a night the Ravens finished with nine penalties for 78 yards.
“We were having a lot of penalties, which kept stopping drives," Jackson said. “But I'm proud of my guys because we kept overcoming. We kept overcoming adversity and situations like this. Divisional games (can) be like that sometimes.”
Particularly when the Steelers are on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Pittsburgh has won 10 of the last 13 meetings. And while a handful of them have been in late-season matchups with the Ravens already assured of reaching the playoffs, the reality is the Steelers have been able to regularly do something that most others have not: found a way to beat Jackson.
“It comes down to situations like this,” Jackson said. “Two-point conversion one year. Field goal another year. And again this year. Just got to find a way to get that win here.”
And figure out who is going to be around to help get it.
Head coach John Harbaugh's 18th season in Baltimore ended with the Ravens missing the playoffs for just the second time in eight years. Jackson turns 29 this week and is still one of the most electric players in the league.
Yet Harbaugh and Jackson have yet to find a way to have that breakthrough season that Harbaugh enjoyed with Joe Flacco in 2013 when the Ravens won the Super Bowl.
There was hope when the season began that the roadblocks that have long been in the franchise's way — Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes chief among them — would be gone.
While the Ravens did get their way in a sense — the Chiefs will watch the playoffs from afar for the first time in a decade after a nightmarish season of their own — it never all came together.
Jackson declined to endorse Harbaugh returning for a 19th season, saying the loss was still too fresh to zoom out on what it might mean for the franchise going forward.
Harbaugh, for his part, certainly seems up for running it back in the fall.
“I love these guys,” he said afterward. “I love these guys.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, right, hands the ball off to running back Derrick Henry (22) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh talks with an offical during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Justin Berl)
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, left, greets Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) after an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Steelers safety Jabrill Peppers (40) reacts after Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop (33) missed a field goal attempt in the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
