The Boston Red Sox visit the Kansas City Royals this weekend with a major off-field distraction in designated hitter Rafael Devers.

Rafael Devers will not be replacing the injured Triston Casas at first after already making one position switch, and said as much emphatically to both the Red Sox front office and the media.

Devers, who the Red Sox rewarded with a massive $10-year, 313.5 million deal, needs to do whatever it takes for Boston to be in the best possible position to win. By denying to play first base, and then coming out to the media and saying everything he said, he’s wrong, no question.