Rafael Devers and the Red Sox end in divorce, leaving more questions than answers as to what the plan is for the organization

On Sunday afternoon, Fenway Park was alive, buzzing with optimism as the Red Sox were on the verge of sweeping their bitter rivals, the Yankees. Brayan Bello threw seven scoreless innings, shutting down Aaron Judge, striking out the slugger three times, and throwing a career-high 114 pitches. His final pitch was a 95 mph fastball that painted the lower right corner of the strike zone, getting Yankees catcher J.C. Escarra looking.

One inning later, with two runners on and one out, the Red Sox clinging to a 2-0 lead, Garrett Whitlock forced Judge to hit into an inning-ending double play, setting up a three-game series sweep, a five-game winning streak, three straight series wins, and serious momentum, something the Red Sox lacked to find all season long.

Just about an hour later, the unthinkable happened. The Red Sox traded their best hitter, Rafael Devers, to the Giants for four players, and in the process, they sent a gut punch to fans who are all too familiar with seeing players of his caliber moved out of Boston.

It’s difficult to process the Devers trade to the Giants. The move was a shocker — an out-of-nowhere trade that probably would have happened anyway — but fans weren’t able to prepare for it mentally. Boston acquired four players, three of whom will help this team in the future, and in the process, John Henry saved $254 million. The Giants finally landed a big-time slugger after losing out on Judge, Carlos Correa, and Shohei Ohtani in free agency the last couple of seasons.

Giants front office leader Buster Posey made a bold statement to his fan base: he pushed his chips into the center of the table and landed a power bat to anchor his lineup. Craig Breslow and Devers officially filed for divorce, a relationship that went sour seemingly due to a lack of communication between the player and the front office head honcho.

The Devers trade is an all-too-familiar approach for the Red Sox. Here’s what we know is true: during Henry’s time as principal owner of the club, Boston has won four World Series championships. What’s also true is that the Red Sox traded Nomar Garciaparra, Jon Lester, Mookie Betts, and now Devers and let Xander Bogaerts walk for a comp pick in free agency. All home-grown stars that the organization should have built around. 

When the Red Sox moved Garciaparra, they parted ways with a beloved homegrown player, but in the process, they acquired Orlando Cabrera and first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz. Garciaparra was the face of the franchise since his 1997 Rookie of the Year season. The stunning trade showed then-general manager Theo Epstein had the cojones to make a franchise-altering deal. It worked out for Boston, who later on went on to win their first World Series championship in 86 years.

Boston went on to win two more World Series championships before it made another controversial trade. Rather than paying Lester his full value they low-balled the left-hander in extension negotiations, the Red Sox traded him, along with Jonny Gomes, to the Athletics in exchange for outfielder Yoenis Céspedes, who stayed with the team for a mere cup of coffee. The Sox dealt the outfielder to the Tigers for Rick Porcello in a four-player deal. Porcello worked out for Boston, winning a World Series with him in 2018 and the 2016 Cy Young Award, finishing the season with 22 wins.

Boston dealt Betts instead of paying him the money he deserved for Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs, and Connor Wong. Verdugo is now with the Braves, Downs failed to live up to the hype as a top prospect in baseball, and Wong is still looking for his first RBI of the 2025 season.

They refused to pay Bogaerts, and he bolted for San Diego. To be fair, the Red Sox shouldn’t have given him the money A.J. Preller and company did that offseason. It shouldn’t have ever gotten to the point of Bogaerts hitting free agency and bolting for Southern California.

Now Devers is gone.

MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported that Devers did not demand a trade despite being unhappy with the team’s leadership. He was open to the idea but never slammed his fist on Breslow’s desk, screaming for a change of scenery.

Cotillo added that Devers relationship with the team was "an unsalvageable situation for both parties." 

The Fenway Sports Group has clearly communicated to fans that the Red Sox are no longer a baseball team but rather a corporate entity, not focused on winning championships but rather on being a profitable business based at 4 Jersey St.

The reality is that since the Red Sox last won a World Series in 2018, there has been a shift in the club's operational philosophy. Henry changed course and wanted to run the Red Sox like the Rays. Powered by nerds and analytics, Boston has been rebuilding for years and barely invests legitimate money into the on-field product. It’s shocking that the club signed Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120 million deal this February. They also threw a bag of cash at Garrett Crochet, and instead of continuing to do that, they just sent their best player and biggest contract in team history out west to the Bay Area.

The Red Sox are in a playoff race. Teams with postseason aspirations don’t trade their best hitter when they’re already down key bats in their lineup. Boston landed four players that will help their future and, once again, are leaving fans wondering what the Red Sox are trying to do in the present.

This bitter divorce with Devers seemed to be avoidable, but a lack of communication between the team and its star player resulted in another facet of the franchise player being jettisoned from Boston. The Red Sox look dysfunctional and are coming across as a team without a direction.

Devers was outspoken as to the Red Sox' plans prior to the 2024 season, calling out the direction of the organization during spring training.

“They need to make an adjustment to help us players to be in a better position to win,” Devers told reporters before the 2024 season, through translator Carlos Villoria Benitez. “Everybody in this organization wants to win. And we, as players, want to win. And I think they need to make an adjustment to help us win.”

Boston ultimately decided to sign Bregman the following offseason, prompting questions about whether Breslow genuinely intended to bring the veteran third baseman on board. The club needed an established right-handed hitter, and in the process, alienated Devers. Breslow and Alex Cora told Devers to keep his glove at home in the Dominican Republic and that he was going to be the team’s everyday designated hitter. Devers wasn’t thrilled, telling the Boston media this spring that he wasn’t moving off third base. He ultimately did, and after struggling to open the season, he began to settle into his role, slashing .272/.401/.504 with 33 extra-base hits while recording a .905 OPS in 73 games.

The 28-year-old dug his heels in even further after the team lost Triston Casas to a season-ending knee injury. Breslow, not Cora, asked the slugger to pick up the glove he was told to throw into the back of his closet and gauge his interest in the idea of playing first base. He declined the request, publicly criticizing Breslow and further damaging his relationship with the team.

“They had the conversation with me,” Devers said in May through translator Daveson Perez. “I don’t think me personally it’s the best decision after they asked me to play a different position, and I only have two months of playing this position.”

Devers continued, “Now I think they should do their job essentially and hit the market and look for another player. I'm not sure why they want me to be in between the way they have me now.”

Henry, Sam Kennedy, and Breslow flew to Kansas City in early May to have a one-on-one conversation with his highest-paid player. The details of the conversation never truly came out from the meeting, but you can surmise that the owner—who has been publicly disconnected from the day-to-day operations of the Red Sox—likely told the player, and I'm guessing, "We're paying you the most money, and you are a team leader; you should do what’s best for the club."

In fact, the Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham reported following the trade that “the team’s feeling was that a $313.5 contract comes with responsibilities to do what is right for the team and that Devers did not live up to those responsibilities.”

With each transaction, Breslow is looking more like his predecessor, Chaim Bloom, with no real feel for an actual baseball move but relying on the numbers the algorithm spits out. Bloom was the man behind the wheel when Betts was traded to the Dodgers. One could argue that he had no choice but to trade the superstar, and that's a valid point. You can also argue that he could have and should have gotten a better return for Betts. Bloom was also on duty when Henry signed Devers to his massive extension. In fact, the former chief baseball officer reportedly told Devers that the Red Sox had signed him to an extension to be their third baseman for years to come.

Every decision the Red Sox makes prioritizes analytics over genuine baseball expertise, while Posey in San Francisco is taking the opposite approach. A former player like Breslow has made smart decisions, signing Willy Adames this winter and re-signing Matt Chapman. His rotation is one of the best in baseball, and now he’s landed Devers.

Posey isn’t worried about the discourse surrounding Devers in the reporting for the Boston media. After the trade, the Giants' decision-maker revealed that he had a lengthy conversation with Breslow about all the public remarks made about Devers.

"(Breslow said) that some of the stuff that has been in the media was a bit unfortunate," Posey said. "The reports that I've gotten from other people across the industry are that Raffy is a great teammate and loves to play the game, and I'm excited to be able to have those conversations with him and figure out how he's going to best fit into our lineup, defensively and offensively."

It’s unclear where Devers will play with the Giants; some are reporting he will DH and be asked to play the field, in similar fashion to what the Red Sox were looking for out of him. Posey and manager Bob Melvin will sit down with the former Sox’ disgruntled star and figure out what’s best for him and the Giants.

"I think that's a conversation that we're going to have to have with him," Posey told beat writers Sunday night. "As much as anything, as I've told you guys, I want to do my best to be upfront and transparent with these guys and make sure we're on the same page. That's a conversation for myself, Zack (Minasian), and Bob to have with him."

Fans in Boston remain uncertain about the organization's future plans. Yes, Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, and Kristian Campbell are all in the majors and building blocks for the future. There’s that word again, future. For the here and now, the Red Sox are without a legitimate middle-of-the-order bat; Bregman is on the IL, Casas is out of action until 2026, and the kids aren’t hitting yet in the bigs.

The trade raises numerous unresolved questions. Do the Red Sox ownership group and front officet truly see this team as a playoff contender?

One look at Monday’s lineup will paint a scary picture in the short term.

Is there more to come after the Devers swap?

Could Boston be lining up a deal for another slugger to help offset the loss of Devers’ bat? Boston was connected to the Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado in the offseason, but he’s cooled down considerably at the plate.

If the Sox aren’t serious about this season, are they in the market to sell off Bregman, Walker Buehler, Aroldis Chapman, Jarren Duran, or even Wilyer Abreu?

The next couple of weeks will clear up some of those questions. Truly, the Red Sox are difficult to figure out.

One of the last images Red Sox fans will have of Devers was him hitting his 15th homer of the season off Yankees ace Max Fried on Sunday.

“I feel good. I feel like I’ve adapted really well, and now I’m just playing baseball,” Devers said. “We’re playing good baseball, and even more so when the young kids are here and learning how to play winning baseball. That’s very good for us.”

Boston tweeted an emotional (for fans anyway) video of Devers’ time with the Red Sox, highlighting all the good moments he had in Boston. 

"In the matter of an hour or so, fun and optimism in the world of the Red Sox was quickly transferred across the country to the euphoria Buster Posey had delivered his Giants fan base," WEEI's Rob Bradford said following the deal on X. "The Red Sox rug has once again been pulled out from under their fans’ feet."

Henry paid only $42.347 million of the extension signed, including $12.847 million this year. Boston will take on the remaining $32 million of Hicks’ four-year, $44 million deal signed before last season.

No Red Sox official and decision maker has made a public statement. According to the team, Kennedy and Breslow will be available to the media on Zoom sometime on Monday. Breslow is expected to travel to Seattle and be with the club as they embark on an 11-day road trip.

The Red Sox front office and ownership are making it really difficult for fans to love that dirty water. Neil Diamond was wrong; good times never seemed so good, especially under Henry.