Devers, Red Sox deodorize clubhouse turmoil with series win

The Boston Red Sox had a problem on their hands. They might still have one. But it's harder to sniff out after a productive weekend in Kansas City.

Rafael Devers went 7-for-12 with a home run and six RBIs in three games against the Royals, two of which the Red Sox won, to take some of the stench off recent comments that reeked of selfishness. John Henry flew to Kansas City himself to meet with Devers as the weekend series was getting underway, and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Henry "seems to have had a productive conversation" (via Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic).

The meetings with Devers obviously didn't convince him to move to first base, not yet. He stayed at DH and, thankfully, mashed throughout the series. They maintained their ground against the AL East-leading Yankees, who also won two out of three against the Athletics over the weekend, as they sit two games back.

Predictably, production did not improve at first base in the series. Abraham Toro and Nick Sogard, a pair of recent minor-league call-ups, combined to go 2-for-13 in the series (Sogard did score a run). The Red Sox still aren't getting the absolute most out of their lineup, because if Devers simply moved to first base -- which is clearly what's best for the team, at the moment -- they could put anyone they want at DH. And that would most certainly be an upgrade over Toro or Sogard.

^{Rafael Devers}

So, despite Devers and the team's recent success, they did not solve the first base problem. They just covered it up. As my Sports Hub colleague Chris Gasper always says, "Winning is the ultimate deodorant." The more they win, the more they keep the odor away.

The victories also helped to cover up a recent report that a couple of Devers' veteran teammates "were not happy with the situation" or Devers' "inflexibility" about a position change, as well as the way he talked about it publicly (via Christopher Smith of MassLive on the "Foul Territory" show). As long as Devers does his job and the team has success, those veterans may be happy enough.

But Devers better hope he keeps hitting and the Red Sox keep notching the win column. Because it's only two wins, and that alone doesn't mean the stink is gone. It's just hidden, for now.

The Sox' next chance to continue to deodorize their internal turmoil comes Monday night, when they take on the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park at 6:40 p.m. ET.

Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.