Rafael Devers’ bat has been so quiet, you’d think it took a vow of silence. Naturally, frustration is mounting, and wild claims are flying. Now, there’s a new one making the rounds: Alex Cora supposedly wants to spank his struggling slugger. It’s a juicy soundbite—but is there any truth to it, or is this just baseball gossip gone wild?

It’s clearly just gossip, and you can tell right away. It looks like a fan decided to use AI to create a video featuring a supposed Red Sox commentator bashing Devers for his batting Slump. And, there’s one particular line in the video that caught everyone’s attention.

In that 1-minute video, the commentator says, “Yeah. And Cora told me that if Raffy strikes out here that he is going to spank him with a fly swatter.” While it might seem funny now, the frustration within the franchise—and among fans—is growing with every at-bat. Can you really blame fans for venting their feelings in such a creative way?

So far this season, Devers has had nothing to show for his efforts. After being shifted to the designated hitter position to focus on his hitting abilities, he seems to have lost his touch entirely. In the first five games of the season, Devers has had 19 at-bats, and guess what? He has not a single hit. And if that wasn’t bad, he has been struck out 15 times in those 19 attempts. That’s far from normal for a player of Devers’ caliber, but given his rough spring training and shoulder issues last year, it’s not entirely shocking.

During spring training, Devers posted somewhat decent numbers, with a batting average of .214 and an SLG of .286. However, most of his focus was on recovering from his shoulder injury, which limited him to just 15 at-bats. Now, another question arises: has his shoulder fully healed? According to manager Cora, it has—so the injury is not to blame for his current slump. So, this brings out one possible conclusion: the position change. We all know very well that Devers wasn’t exactly thrilled about leaving his spot at third baseman—and who could blame him? He’s been killing it there! But to avoid any unnecessary drama, he went along with it. But when Cora was asked about that possibility, he declined.

What makes the whole AI-generated video even harder to believe is that Cora has always shown a lot of confidence in Devers. “He’s been (adjusting) his hands his whole career — sometimes they’re down, sometimes they’re up, whatever,” Cora said confidently in a conversation with NESN. But now that we are five games 5 games into the season, it’s high time that Devers steps up to the plate and starts getting hits.

If Devers needs a wake-up call, it shouldn’t come from a fly swatter—it should come from his own bat. The jokes and AI-generated rants will keep piling up until he gives fans something real to talk about. The excuses are gone, and Boston’s DH needs to start hitting—or risk becoming the punchline of his own season.

Rafael Devers hints at the problem causing a batting slump

For a guy known for crushing baseballs, Devers is currently swinging like he’s trying to swat a ghost. The Boston Red Sox star isn’t just in a slump—he’s in free fall, and the numbers are ugly. But according to Devers himself, the issue isn’t mechanical. It might be happening in the one place no coach can fix—his own head. While the fans are busy speculating about what’s wrong, he has shared his own thoughts on the matter. In an interview, he said, “I never change the way that I hit. I’m still aggressive. I’ve always been like that, Maybe I’m thinking too much at the plate — what the pitcher might throw or not. Otherwise, I feel good.”

Overthinking seems to be the culprit behind Devers’ struggles, at least according to him. But apparently Cora doesn’t think so. With a different perspective, he remains optimistic and confident in Devers at a time when his own confidence is tumbling. He pointed out that Devers is only swinging at strikes and not chasing pitches outside the zone—a good sign that he’s seeing the ball well. Still, that doesn’t mean much if he can’t make contact.

If seeing the ball well was enough, Devers’ batting average wouldn’t be flirting with invisibility. Swinging at strikes is great, but striking out 15 times in 19 attempts? Not so much. Whether it’s overthinking or something deeper, the Red Sox need their star to start making contact—because right now, Boston’s biggest bat is just a very expensive breeze.