Article: Rafael Devers’ Best Defensive Plays of the Season, Part Two

[Davy Andrews]

That’s right, part two. The much-maligned third baseman made even more great plays. Let Devers cook.

So earlier tearlier this week, I decided I’d watch every play Rafael Devers made this season, then I’d pull out the best of the best to show you what it looks like when Devers is really on his game. It was just a little holiday treat, a way of finding some joy in what is universally acknowledged as the least joyful part of his game. But here’s the thing, and it’s not a thing I expected: Devers made too many great plays. I started at the end of the season and worked my way backwards, but I found more than enough plays for a whole article before we’d even made it out of September. I’m not going to write a whole article for each month of the season – that would be pretty ludicrous considering the player in question – so this is the second and final installment of Devers’ defensive plays of the 2024 season. Let’s enjoy them together.

We’ll start with a diving backhanded stop from back in August.

This is the kind of play that fuels all those arguments about how Devers’ defense passes the eye test. Playing way over at the shortstop position with Corey Seager batting left handed, he made an incredible diving play. Seager absolutely demolished this ball. It left the bat at 106.5 mph, and Devers needed every inch of his dive to corral it. How can you not look at that play and think, “That’s the guy the defensive metrics hate so much?”

Up second is yet another backhanded stop from back in August.

With two outs and a runner on first, this play might have saved a run. It’s not just that the ball was hit hard, it’s that Devers had to make a quick, back-handed stop without having any time to put himself in position to get a good hop. That in-between hop can eat up the best of defenders, but Devers kept both his body and his glove low, so even though the ball seemed to skip on him, he was able to secure it and get the force out at second.

One of the common threads of these great plays is Devers making it work despite getting tricky hops. Sometimes that’s because he’s dealing with a ball that gives him no choice, but sometimes it’s because he just didn’t do everything he could to get himself in good position. This next play probably features a bit of both.

DJ LeMahieu hits a soft chopper and Devers charges hard, snagging the ball barehanded on the bounce and firing a strike. This was a do-or-die play and Devers definitely didn’t have time to wait back and get a better hop. However, from watching on television, there’s no way for us to see the jump that Devers got. LeMahieu is particularly slow at this point in his career, and perhaps a better third baseman gets a better jump on this ball and has an easier play. All the same, the execution was downright flawless.

A couple days earlier, Devers did a solid Derek Jeter impression on a popup down the third base line.

We shouldn’t overlook the amount of ground that Devers covered after starting this play deep in the hole against the left-handed Ben Rice. The real degree of difficulty points come from the proximity of the tarp. Devers was barely able to slow down before securing the ball, and without any time, he simply climbed over it and crashed into the netting, which it turns out, doesn’t just protect fans. Devers courage isn’t just about braving the tarp, though, it’s about daring to venture into the seats at Yankee Stadium. If there’s one thing we learned from the World Series, it’s that opposing players should stay as far away from the front row as possible.

The Yankees were also Devers’ most frequent victim. Here he is robbing a hit from Aaron Judge.

There’s no doubt that this is an excellent stop. It’s a low liner, and Devers makes a slick diving pickup, spins around on his knees, and then nails the runner at second. However, the really interesting thing about this play is that the umpire’s view allows you to see just how late Devers’ jump actually is. A great fielder reads the pitch and the swing and starts moving before the ball is even struck. Judge has fully finished his backswing before Devers even starts leaning toward his left side. This is how our eyes deceive us!

If you liked that play, you’ll love this one off the bat of Nick Castellanos.

As you might guess, ball was hit at nearly the exact same exit velocity and launch angle, and Devers made a nearly identical play. The next time you hear someone complaining that they wish Devers could be more consistent on defense, show them those two plays back-to-back. He can consistently make that tricky glove-side dive, spin, and throw. Seriously, he can make some tremendous plays going to his left.

But here’s the really interesting thing. The advanced metrics, Devers really struggles going to his left. According to Statcast, he saved the Red Sox a run on balls where he had to go in or go back, and saved the team two runs when he had to move to his right, toward third base. Going to his left, he cost the team 10 runs! If not for balls hit to his left, he would’ve graded out as an excellent third baseman. I don’t think it’s just that he needs to work on that area of his game. For the most part, he was better going to his left earlier in his career, then last season it flipped, and he’s been better going to his right. I suspect that the team had him work on moving to his right, but the gains he made there simply came at a cost. Maybe you just can’t cover everything.

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