SF Giants rookie’s praise of Rafael Devers should end ‘clubhouse cancer’ narrative

When the SF Giants acquired Rafael Devers last year, it was fair to assume we’d see Devers slug the ball quite a bit. That’s why the Giants were so aggressive in landing him. Not many thought we’d see Devers be a leader though, which is exactly what he is doing right now.

Rookie outfielder Jonah Cox went on 95.7 The Game recently and talked about how helpful Devers has been in hitters’ meetings and behind the scenes assisting some of the younger players:

“He's been talking in our hitters' meetings like 'Hey man like I've seen this guy before, this is what he likes to do.' Seeing him talk in there and then go out on the field an hour later and execute is really cool to see."

Keep in mind, Cox is not the first Giant to talk about what a good teammate Devers has been. Last year after Mike Yastrzemski got traded to the Kansas City Royals, he was asked about Devers and had nothing but positive things to say. He said the exact same thing that Cox said about how Devers was incredibly helpful giving scouting reports on opposing pitchers.

This runs counter to the popular narrative in some corners that Devers is some sort of clubhouse cancer. The folks in Boston are probably the ones who have pushed that narrative the hardest, but it just doesn’t seem to be backed up by reality.

That doesn’t mean Devers is perfect. His refusal to play first base in Boston was certainly not a great look and the episode earlier this year with the Giants where he tried to reject a pinch runner was something that just cannot happen.

But behind the scenes it certainly seems like Devers is more than willing to help guys out and is well-liked by his teammates. Maybe his iciness towards the media and the fact that he is paid so much money helps create narratives around him that don’t really exist.

Rafael Devers is doing exactly what the Giants envisioned

Even manager Tony Vitello has talked about how much fun Devers is having right now. That may be surprising given the fact he’s on a dreadful team that is probably going to finish the season 30 games under .500, but he is hitting the snot out of the ball and doesn’t seem to mind that he’s one of only a few legitimate big league hitters in the team’s lineup.

In his last 15 games he is hitting .327/.463/.727 with seven home runs and 14 runs batted in. He’s up to 32 home runs on the year and there’s a real chance that he could be the first Giants player since Barry Bonds to reach 40 on a season.

Right now, he is the exact version of the guy the Giants hoped they were getting when they made that trade. They had to think they’d be a bit more competitive with him playing this way, but at least he’s providing some entertainment with how he is swinging the bat and the fact that he’s helping the young guys behind the scenes should really put an end to the narrative that he’s a bad teammate or a clubhouse cancer.

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