Rafael Devers walked out of the visitors' dugout at Fenway Park on Friday night and into a wall of sound he hasn't heard in 14 months — and it wasn't the welcome he used to get. Boos overpowered the cheers when the lineup was announced, and they grew louder when he struck out looking against Sonny Gray in his first at-bat back in Boston. The Red Sox then played a 90-second tribute video, the crowd softened, and Devers waved from the dugout railing. It was the messy, complicated homecoming everyone knew was coming, and it delivered exactly that: a legend getting booed by the only fans who ever truly loved him.
The return that took 14 months to happen
Friday marked Devers' first game at Fenway Park since the Red Sox traded him to the San Francisco Giants on June 15, 2025 — a Father's Day blockbuster that reshaped both franchises. He arrived with a black Giants sweatshirt, a first-base glove he once refused to pick up, and 25 home runs this season, the most on his new team. The Giants, at 52-75, are playing out a lost season. The Red Sox, at 68-59, are in the middle of a playoff race. Devers is on the wrong side of that divide, and the fans let him know it.
He said before the game he wasn't sure what to expect. "I don't know if they're going to cheer. I don't know if they're going to boo," Devers said through interpreter Erwin Higueros. "This is my first experience." He got both. The boos came first and loudest; the cheers arrived only after the tribute video and his wave to the crowd. It was a fittingly split decision for a player whose Boston legacy is now split in half.
How we got here: the Bregman domino effect
The souring began in February 2025, when the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120 million contract and asked Devers — a third baseman for his entire career — to move to designated hitter. He balked publicly, then relented and agreed to DH. He performed. But the second domino dropped in early May when first baseman Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury and Boston asked Devers to play first base. He refused, telling reporters the front office "should do their jobs" and find another player.
The relationship never recovered. Six weeks later, Devers was traded to San Francisco, and Boston's return — right-hander Jordan Hicks, lefty Kyle Harrison, outfield prospect James Tibbs III and righty Jose Bello — has aged terribly. Only Bello remains in the organization. Hicks went to the White Sox, Harrison to the Brewers, and Tibbs to the Dodgers. Meanwhile, Bregman opted out after one season and left in free agency, and former manager Alex Cora was fired in April following a 10-17 start. The trade that was supposed to fix Boston's roster problems fixed almost nothing.
The irony Devers can't escape
Here's the part that makes this whole saga so deliciously awkward: Devers now plays first base all the time. He has appeared at the position he refused to play in Boston in 118 games for San Francisco. He initially served as the Giants' designated hitter while recovering from injuries, then moved to first base — where he has played every day since. It was never about the position. It was about the front office, the communication, and the trust that broke somewhere between February and June of 2025.
Even that adjustment hasn't been frictionless. In June, Devers had a visible dustup with Giants manager Tony Vitello when he brushed off a pinch runner and angrily headed into the dugout. But by and large, he has found peace in San Francisco. "I can't compare the two teams," Devers said. "I'm concentrating on San Francisco and the organization that's treating me very well right now."
The numbers tell both sides of the story
With Boston, Devers was a three-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger and a 2018 World Series champion, hitting .279 with a .510 slugging percentage, 215 home runs, 273 doubles and 696 RBI across nine seasons. He was one of the most popular players in baseball-mad Boston, a kid signed at 17 who grew into a franchise cornerstone. With San Francisco, he has hit .241 with 45 homers and 120 RBI in two seasons, and he's the only real power threat in a lineup that has cratered.
His message to the fans who booed him Friday was pure class. "I simply want to say thank you for all the support they gave me through my years here," Devers said. "They will always be special in my heart." The boos may have won the first battle, but the tribute video, the wave, and the complicated love between Devers and Boston isn't going anywhere. This weekend's three-game series is a reminder that some relationships end without ever really ending.
What's next
The Giants and Red Sox play two more games this weekend, and Devers will keep hearing it from the Fenway crowd. The Red Sox are chasing a playoff spot and Sonny Gray is having a Cy Young-caliber season at 15-3 with a 2.65 ERA — the exact kind of team Devers used to carry. The Giants are playing for next year. For one weekend, though, all of it gets set aside for the reunion nobody asked for and everybody watched. Boos and all, it was the perfect return: complicated, loud, and impossible to look away from.
Cole Donovan
Cole Donovan writes practical sports coverage with a focus on team form, game context, and the small details that can shape each matchup.