{"id":38547,"date":"2025-04-05T02:46:45","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T02:46:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547"},"modified":"2025-04-05T02:46:45","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T02:46:45","slug":"breaking-albert-pujols-shares-candid-assessment-of-rafael-deverss-early-season-slump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Albert Pujols Shares Candid Assessment of Rafael Devers&#8217;s Early-Season Slump"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"tagStyle_jjmvck-o_O-style_gt0nzj-o_O-sidesPadding_1kaga1a\">\n<div>The designated hitter is off to a miserable start.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wrapper_e296pg\">\n<div class=\"wrapper_oenkmd\">\n<div class=\"wrapper_1vgzeyt\">\n<div class=\"style_1q03211\">\n<figure class=\"base_1ruub6q\" data-mm-type=\"image\"><picture class=\"base_1emrqjj\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"base_1emrqjj\" title=\"Rafael Devers walks in the dugout during a recent game against the Rangers.\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_4526,h_2545,x_0,y_75\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/si\/01jr0z13dnke77p4mp31.jpg\" alt=\"Rafael Devers walks in the dugout during a recent game against the Rangers.\" data-uw-rm-alt-original=\"Rafael Devers walks in the dugout during a recent game against the Rangers.\" data-uw-rm-alt=\"ALT\" \/><\/picture><\/figure>\n<div class=\"wrapper_brpv6a\">Rafael Devers walks in the dugout during a recent game against the Rangers. \/ Tim Heitman-Imagn Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inStoryContainer_1r009zu\">\n<div class=\"wrapper_qe1qt7\">\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_nefx25cc5\">Every baseball season it seems one star struggles mightily out of the gate to start the season, and this year\u00a0that star is Boston Red Sox designated hitter Rafael Devers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_7jt7qgh6i\">The three-time All-Star has 27 at-bats to his name this season\u2014and in those at-bats he has three hits against 16 strikeouts. By Baseball Reference&#8217;s measurements, he&#8217;s siphoned off nearly 1% of his\u00a0<em>career\u00a0<\/em>WAR.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_rw24bte3l\">As Red Sox fans cross their fingers Devers will come around, longtime MLB first baseman Albert Pujols offered perspective on the star&#8217;s struggles on\u00a0<em>MLB Now<\/em>\u00a0Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_epj5yccus\">&#8220;He&#8217;s gonna be okay,&#8221; Pujols said. &#8220;You can blame the start of the season for that move, but I don&#8217;t believe it&#8217;s just that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"style_1y6if9u-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_6dnplncgr\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"optanon-category-C0004 ot-vscat-C0004 \" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1908205675307819201&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fmlb%2Falbert-pujols-shares-candid-assessment-rafael-devers-early-season-slump-red-sox&amp;sessionId=88fd8a2eef1c6394cae4cce12076acbe1f858279&amp;siteScreenName=SInow&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1908205675307819201\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_asdlws320\">Pujols, along with panelists Bob Costas and Brian Kenny, speculated that\u00a0Devers may be adjusting to uncertainty\u00a0around his position. The addition of third baseman Alex Bregman and the\u00a0arrival of second base superprospect Kristian Campbell\u00a0have thrown Boston&#8217;s infield into mild disarray.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_2rbvvsjbc\">&#8220;I think he was hurt about it, Devers is still a young guy,&#8221; Pujols said. &#8220;I think he needs to understand that it&#8217;s not about the player, it&#8217;s about the organization.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The designated hitter is off to a miserable start. Rafael Devers walks in the dugout during a recent game against the Rangers. \/ Tim Heitman-Imagn Images Every&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Albert Pujols Shares Candid Assessment of Rafael Devers&#039;s Early-Season Slump - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Albert Pujols Shares Candid Assessment of Rafael Devers&#039;s Early-Season Slump - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The designated hitter is off to a miserable start. Rafael Devers walks in the dugout during a recent game against the Rangers. \/ Tim Heitman-Imagn Images Every...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-05T02:46:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/01jr0z13dnke77p4mp31.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"405\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547\",\"name\":\"BREAKING: Albert Pujols Shares Candid Assessment of Rafael Devers's Early-Season Slump - 24\/7 News America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/01jr0z13dnke77p4mp31.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-05T02:46:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-05T02:46:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/01jr0z13dnke77p4mp31.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/01jr0z13dnke77p4mp31.jpg\",\"width\":720,\"height\":405},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BREAKING: Albert Pujols Shares Candid Assessment of Rafael Devers&#8217;s Early-Season Slump\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"24\/7 News America\",\"description\":\"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BREAKING: Albert Pujols Shares Candid Assessment of Rafael Devers's Early-Season Slump - 24\/7 News America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BREAKING: Albert Pujols Shares Candid Assessment of Rafael Devers's Early-Season Slump - 24\/7 News America","og_description":"The designated hitter is off to a miserable start. Rafael Devers walks in the dugout during a recent game against the Rangers. \/ Tim Heitman-Imagn Images Every...","og_url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547","og_site_name":"24\/7 News America","article_published_time":"2025-04-05T02:46:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":720,"height":405,"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/01jr0z13dnke77p4mp31.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547","name":"BREAKING: Albert Pujols Shares Candid Assessment of Rafael Devers's Early-Season Slump - 24\/7 News America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/01jr0z13dnke77p4mp31.jpg","datePublished":"2025-04-05T02:46:45+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-05T02:46:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/01jr0z13dnke77p4mp31.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/01jr0z13dnke77p4mp31.jpg","width":720,"height":405},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38547#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BREAKING: Albert Pujols Shares Candid Assessment of Rafael Devers&#8217;s Early-Season Slump"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/","name":"24\/7 News America","description":"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38547"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38557,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38547\/revisions\/38557"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/38556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}