Red Sox’ Alex Corа аddresses Rаfаel Devers’ сleаr frustrаtіon

Red Sox star Rafael Devers sat at his locker for about 40 minutes after the Red Sox’ 7-2 loss to the Mets on Tuesday.

Red Sox' Rafael Devers follows through on a home run against the Yankees during seventh inning on Sunday. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)AP

He was clearly frustrated. He spent most of the time staring into his locker and holding a bat and his head.

Boston had just lost for the 10th time in 13 games. Devers, who has been dealing with chronic soreness in both shoulders, has gone 1-for-21 with six strikeouts and no walks on this dismal 1-4 road trip that wraps up Wednesday against the Mets here at Citi Field.

He should be frustrated. But this frustration seemed more pronounced.

Devers knew the media wanted to speak with him. He didn’t decline the request when a PR staff member told him. But about an hour later, he left the clubhouse and boarded the team bus without acknowledging anyone.

Manager Alex Cora was asked Wednesday if he has spoken with Devers about what’s on his mind.

“We talked actually two days ago,” Cora said. “I asked him, ‘Are you healthy?’ That’s my biggest concern. ... And he says he is OK. He’s not feeling any worse. He doesn’t feel great at the plate. And that was two days ago. We’ll talk today again. There’s a few things throughout the day today I looked into it. And (assistant director of analytics) Dave Miller helped me to find some information. Hopefully we can translate that into better at-bats and better contact. He’s hit the ball OK the last three or four days. A few line drives up the middle, going the other way. But like I said yesterday, his bread and butter is left-center. And right now, he hasn’t been able to do it. When he gets that, we’re going to be OK. Hopefully, today is the day.”

Cora hopes a new spot in the lineup will get Devers’ bat going. He has the slugger batting second Wednesday. He has spent most of this year in the cleanup spot.

Cora also was asked about Devers often not speaking with the media after losses this year despite being one of the veterans on the team. Devers has declined several NESN postgame walkoff interviews as well.

“I understand your point but at the end of the day, the player decides what he wants to do,” Cora said. “We always talk to the players. Since day one, we want them to be accessible for the media. Not only because they have to but I do believe with this platform, it’s not only (for) you guys. You guys have a job to do. It’s to get the information for the fan base. And I think the fan base, they like to know what is going on. Why are we struggling? Why are we doing well? Are we hurt? Are we not? That’s something we always talk to the players (about). From my end, I’ve gotta do my job. I’ve gotta talk to you before the game, after the game, I’ve gotta do ‘EEI after an hour and 45 minutes in the bus. That’s part of my platform.”

(The bus ride from the team hotel to Citi Field on Wednesday took 1 hour, 45 minutes.)

“I’m not going to tell a guy ‘You have to do it’ but we always try to tell the guys this is something that is what we do,” Cora said. “When you sign that professional contract, you become a spokesman not only of the organization but also baseball. We keep talking. He’s done some great things during the year. He sat there for a half hour in spring training and he was open about our situation and the way he saw it.”

Devers spoke with reporters during spring training about how he thought the Red Sox didn’t do enough to add to the roster in the offseason.

“I know this year he’s been on and off,” Cora said. “But we keep talking to him and help him through all this stuff.”

Cora said Devers doesn’t like to be considered the face of the franchise despite signing a 10-year, $313.5 million contract in January 2023.

“He’s been very vocal about it. He doesn’t like that,” Cora said. “He doesn’t like to be called the face of the franchise. But obviously we made a huge commitment a few years ago and that comes with the territory (whether) you like it or not. Forget the off-the-field part of it. When we’re playing the opposition, that’s the guy they circle. We circle (Aaron) Judge. We circle (Francisco) Lindor. They circle Raffy Devers. And that comes with the territory.”

The 27-year-old superstar has had a big season despite dealing with shoulder issues. He has a .905 OPS, 28 homers, 33 doubles, five triples and 80 RBIs in 123 games (538 plate appearances). He’s a huge reason why the 2024 Red Sox have remained in the Wild Card race into September.

But his struggles of late have come when the entire lineup is struggling. Boston has five runs in its past 36 innings.

“He cares about winning,” Cora said. “That’s something we always talking about it. We’re not having fun as a group right now. Probably right now without going into details and talking to him about it, he feels probably the burden of the offense. This is something J.D. (Martinez) always talked about it and other guys: ‘When I’m not going, we’re not going.’ It’s tough because it doesn’t work that way. This is not the NBA that we know who’s going to get the ball with four minutes left in the game. Even in the Olympics. It’s Steph (Curry) that’s going to get the basketball. LeBron (James) is going to get the basketball. Here, his last at-bat might be in the seventh inning and he doesn’t come up again. So if that’s the case, he’s been too hard on himself.

“You just gotta go out there and perform. Just do your thing. You’ve got four at-bats. Like I said before, Don’t try to chase hits or results. Stay with the process and what you’ve been doing throughout your career. And if you do that, you’re going to be all right. But I think all around he looks at it and he says, ‘I’ve gotta be better for us to be better.’”