BOSTON — For the first time since the Boston Red Sox made the franchise-altering trade 14 months ago, Rafael Devers returned to Fenway Park on Friday, this time sitting in the visitor’s dugout, wearing a black San Francisco Giants sweatshirt.The 29-year-old said he has no regrets about how things ended in Boston and is happy with the Giants, but has learned a lot over the past year.“I don’t want to think about the past,” he said through a team translator. “I don’t want to talk about the past. But at the same time, we’re all men, we’re all grown-ups. We have to understand this is the business of baseball, but at the same time, you make mistakes and you have to move on and mature.”“I feel really good, I think I have matured during the year,” he added. “I think that I have learned. As an athlete, there’s things that are going to happen, and what you have to do is move forward and learn from that.”Devers, who batted second and served as San Francisco’s designated hitter, heard boos when lineups were announced and again when he came to the plate. When starter Sonny Gray struck him out, the boos grew even louder. There were cheers and applause when the Red Sox showed a tribute video for Devers after the first inning, but the reception was muted. Devers came up to the dugout railing and waved.Why the Red Sox resurgence is historicKen Rosenthal and Johnny SweetIn nine seasons with the Red Sox, Devers hit .279 with an .859 OPS and 215 homers, was a five-time All-Star and 2018 World Series champion.But by the end of his time in Boston, things between the All-Star slugger and the team had soured. The Red Sox sent Devers to San Francisco on June 15, 2025, in a shocking trade that came after months of tension, which first surfaced when the Red Sox signed third baseman Alex Bregman in spring training. After adding Bregman, the club asked Devers to move to designated hitter, a move he considered disrespectful and was at first reluctant to make. Upon eventually settling in at DH, the Red Sox lost first baseman Triston Casas to season-ending knee surgery a month into the season and asked Devers to work out at first base. Devers refused and remained at the team’s designated hitter.By mid-June, he was gone. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow noted the day after the trade he was mindful of “the environment that we create for (our) young players,” indicating Devers’ unwillingness to switch positions was part of the trade.Devers signed as a 16-year-old with the Red Sox in 2013 as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic and eventually became one of the best hitters in baseball. He signed a 10-year, $313.5 million deal with the Red Sox in 2023, the largest contract in franchise history.“A lot of memories came back,” Dever said of being in Boston. “This is my first organization that I’ve been to and I’ve only been in San Francisco, so obviously, being here first, there’s so many memories, good ones and bad ones.”He made a point to show appreciation for the fans in Boston.“Very happy to be back, I know that the fans were very good to me, so I’m very happy to be back,” he said.Asked what kind of reception he thought he’d receive from the fans, Devers demurred.“I haven’t thought about it,” he said. “It’s my first time coming back to Boston. I have not experienced that before, so I don’t know what to expect.”Despite not wanting to play first base in Boston, Devers has since played 117 games at first for the Giants, including 89 this season. At first, Devers posted a minus-1 Outs Above Average. He posted 18 OAA at third base in Boston in 2019, but never posted a mark better than minus-2 OAA in any other season at the hot corner.“Every single day that I play first base, I feel very comfortable,” he said. “I want to thank (infielders coach Ron) Washington for working with me. I’ve had a lot of support here, so I feel very comfortable.”More than once, Devers noted the support he’s received from the Giants.“The only thing I can say is that this is my team, I’m very comfortable,” he said. “They have supported me. They have trusted me, and I’m just hoping to continue doing well for them.”The Giants began the season poorly, never climbed back into contention and Devers’ start to the season seemed to mimic how the Giants played. On May 3, the Giants dropped their sixth in a row to fall to 13-21, and Devers was hitting .214/.257/.305 with two home runs and 43 strikeouts in 140 plate appearances. Devers has brought his numbers back to respectability — he’s batted .256 with 23 homers and a .873 OPS since, heading into Friday — but the Giants are on pace for 96 losses, and Devers hasn’t played first base since Aug. 10.There are no players or coaches left on the Red Sox from the 2018 World Series team, including manager Alex Cora, but Devers said it was “not at all” weird to be at Fenway without Cora across the diamond.Devers did form close relationships with outfielders Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu, with whom he still keeps in touch.Rafaela, in particular, took the trade hard at the time but said he’s learned a lot from Devers.“You can say almost everything,” Rafaela said of what he’s learned. “He meant a lot to me and still means a lot to me. The things I learned from him as a player … a lot of things that he taught me that I still carry in my career right now. I think I’m really grateful.”Devers said his message to Red Sox fans would be, “I simply want to say thank you very much for all the support they gave me through my years here, and they will always be special in my heart.”Asked how he wanted to be remembered in Boston, Devers said: “I really don’t know, but I guess what I would like to say is that I played baseball the right way. I play very hard and that I always give 100 percent for the team.”