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Tomase: Rafael Devers needs to start pulling his superstar weight

Tomase: Red Sox need Devers to start pulling his superstar weight originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Since hitting their high-water mark of 21-14 last month, the Red Sox have encountered some rough seas.

They're just 9-15 since, and there are lots of reason for their struggles. Youngster Jarren Duran has thudded back to earth while batting just .132 over his last 14 games. Erstwhile ace Chris Sale is hurt again. Closer Kenley Jansen has stopped being automatic. Shortstop Kiké Hernández isn't hitting it or catching it.

But they're all supporting players. These Red Sox boast exactly one superstar, and it has been a while since he played like it.

So what's going on with Rafael Devers?

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The slugging third baseman just signed a $313 million contract, but after a hot start, he has largely escaped scrutiny for what is turning into an exceedingly pedestrian season.

Entering Monday's series finale vs. the Rays, Devers is posting mediocre numbers. He's batting just .241 with a .781 OPS. He has 13 home runs and 49 RBIs, but 10 of the former and 27 of the latter came in April. Since May 1, he's hitting .250 with a .713 OPS and 25 strikeouts in 28 games.

Take away his two-homer game in San Diego a couple of weeks ago, and the last month has basically been a wasteland. Devers isn't hitting velocity, he isn't hitting for power, and he isn't hitting right-handed pitching. He swings at everything, he rarely walks, and he's not delivering in the clutch.

Add five errors and average defensive marks, and you've got a player who's not pulling his weight in a Red Sox lineup that desperately needs him to be David Ortiz.

Where to begin? Devers has always been a free-swinger, but his walk rate has plummeted in each of the last three years. And despite what we'd like to believe about his ability to barrel up anything à la Vladimir Guerrero Sr., the fact of the matter is he's much more productive attacking pitches in the zone than off the plate.

Manager Alex Cora said recently that Devers needs to walk more, and the slugger told MLB.com's Ian Browne that he agrees.

"I need to obviously control the strike zone," Devers said. "I'm not the kind of hitter who's going to see a lot of pitches. I'm very aggressive, that's the kind of baseball player that I am. But I know that I need to take some walks when I need to and I'm working on it."

Of even greater concern are his struggles vs. right-handed pitching. Devers's formula for posting dominant numbers is simple: own righties and hold his own against lefties. In a typical season, he'll put up a .950 OPS vs. righties and .750 vs. lefties and that's fine, since he's going to get two-thirds of his at-bats against the former anyway.

But this year hasn't held true to form. Devers is batting just .238 with a .746 OPS vs. righties, and that's only somewhat mitigated by his better than expected numbers of .247 and .852 vs. lefties. In a division featuring the likes of Gerrit Cole, Kevin Gausman, and Alex Manoah, to name three, the Red Sox rely on Devers to carry their lineup against the best right-handed pitching, and it hasn't happened.

The good news is Devers often follows periods of struggle with stretches of pure dominance, but outside of a two-homer game in San Diego a couple of weeks ago that looked like it might be the start of just such a streak, he has remained largely in neutral.

With the Red Sox back in last place, just a game over .500, that will not do. They need Devers to be great again, and the sooner the better.

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