The San Francisco Giants made a major move when they acquired Rafael Devers last season, but frustration boiled over on Sunday when the star slugger openly disagreed with a late-game decision from manager Tony Vitello.
Vitello, in his first year as a Major League manager after spending seven seasons as Tennessee’s head coach, elected to pinch-run for Devers after he drew a leadoff walk in the top of the ninth inning with the Giants trailing by a run. Devers clearly did not agree with the move, waving the replacement runner away and initially refusing to leave the field before eventually heading back to the dugout.
After the game, Vitello addressed both the decision and Devers’ reaction.
“He was signaling over to us that he’s good to run,” Vitello said after the game, per MLB.com’s Perla Paredes. “We DH them the first game after the day off, just because [of] base running. A little bit of soreness in his leg, but he’s good to go. And so part of that, and then part of it too, competitively, is he wants to stay in the game.”
Vitello also explained that once the substitution was made, there was no reversing it.
“Once we announced the move, the move is made,” Vitello said. “So, just going with what our best effort is to win the game. Obviously, you’d like to get Jonah to go get it back, you know, he’s relatively quick to the plate, but on a double, going with our best chance to be able to score.”
The Giants skipper later clarified that while he believes Devers has enough speed to score on a double, the team preferred to use Jonah Cox in hopes of swiping second base and immediately putting the tying run in scoring position with nobody out. Even with the visible frustration, Vitello made it clear he has no issue with Devers wanting to stay in the game, comparing it to ace Logan Webb’s competitive fire.
“I’d rather have guys like Webb that you have to rip them off the field, as opposed to vice versa,” Vitello said.
Still, the scene is likely to draw attention given Devers’ history. Red Sox fans will remember the tension that surfaced when he initially resisted moving off third base after Boston signed Alex Bregman. Now, with his relationship with Boston’s front office ending poorly and the Giants struggling to gain traction, this latest incident may only add to concerns about whether more tension could be brewing in San Francisco.