Article: Mookie Betts 2.0: Rafael Devers Trade Continues Harrowing Red Sox Tradition

[Brandon Glick]

Mookie Betts. Xander Bogaerts. Rafael Devers.

The last three faces of the historic Boston Red Sox franchise, all World Series champions, are now playing out the remainder of their primes for the big dogs in the NL West. It's hard to talk about this with any semblance of emotional and analytical clarity, because the value that trio of superstars brought to Boston extended so far beyond the walls of Fenway.

The Betts deal, which has been panned ad nauseam for the last half-decade, at least made an iota of sense if you squinted hard enough. An MVP winner in the final year of his deal, the Red Sox's competitive window with their current core had expired (supposedly), and thus, instead of paying him a record amount, the team flipped him for a bundle of prospects and MLB-ready pieces with upside. Even at the time, the return was thought to be weak — and it certainly hasn't aged well — but from a team-building perspective, the logic was understandable, even if the execution was so deeply flawed.

This... this is harder to explain. Devers' contract doesn't expire until after the 2033 season, when the third baseman/designated hitter will be 36. He was the last remaining core pillar of that 2018 team, an in-his-prime slugger with superstar bonafides. In case 162-game averages of 33 home runs, 107 RBIs, and a 128 OPS+ aren't enough to make you swoon, he has a career .955 OPS in 26 postseason games, all played before he turned 25 years old.

The San Francisco Giants, who have famously struggled for years to attract legitimate stars to their team, have now had one fall directly in their laps for a laughable acquisition cost. They benefit tremendously from a bizarre situation, one which only is made weirder by the fact that the Red Sox swept the rival New York Yankees mere hours before officially completing the deal. Against the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays, the team has gone 7-2 over their last nine, a stretch that has them back over .500 and in spitting distance of a Wild Card spot.

This deal raises so, so many questions, both now and in the future. What does this mean for Alex Bregman's future, now that the team has opened up third base and plenty of salary over the long haul? How did the Red Sox get such a light haul for one of the sport's most recognizable players? What will the locker room reaction be to losing the team's premier star? Is the front office safe if the team falters in the second half?

However, no question is more important than this: what will Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell, and every future star free agent think of the team's willingness to put its own ego over loyalty to its biggest stars? Even if Devers really did want out of Boston — which is rooted in the fractured relationship the front office has with him over the very public posturing during his position change to DH — this doesn't look good, no matter how the PR team will try to spin it. This is the Luka Dončić trade of baseball, and Craig Breslow is Nico Harrison. 

The 2025 season is now no longer the team's top priority, despite their recent flirtation with winning. The future is here, if only because the front office and ownership are forcing everyone to look forward. Grief — especially grief born of losing someone you've come to cherish — is never easy to handle, even in a large, communal setting.

At least Red Sox fans can say they already know the feeling.

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[Bellhorn04]

The loss of Betts stands alone.  That was a grievous mistake.

Bogaerts won't earn his contract, not even close, and Devers probably won't either.

Of the three, the only one who sped their own departure was Devers.  He really let us down as a teammate and a person.  He'll be remembered more like Nomar. 

[Hitch]

17 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

The loss of Betts stands alone.  That was a grievous mistake.

Bogaerts won't earn his contract, not even close, and Devers probably won't either.

Of the three, the only one who sped their own departure was Devers.  He really let us down as a teammate and a person.  He'll be remembered more like Nomar. 

I'm not sure he will at all. The reaction from the majority is one of shock and anger I'd say.  He was very much loved.

That said, I do fall somewhat on your side of things, he really was a bad teammate this year, even if he did have the right to be very angry over some things. 

Mookie is definitely the worst. No comparison. 

The timing of this move is the biggest WTF for me. 

 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

20 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

The loss of Betts stands alone.  That was a grievous mistake.

Bogaerts won't earn his contract, not even close, and Devers probably won't either.

Of the three, the only one who sped their own departure was Devers.  He really let us down as a teammate and a person.  He'll be remembered more like Nomar. 

Mookie fed the homeless and wore a hoodie so he wouldn't be recognized for doing a nice thing.

Raffy fed his teammates, coaches, media and fans an indigestible three-course meal of selfish pie.

[Bellhorn04]

1 minute ago, Hitch said:

I'm not sure he will at all. The reaction from the majority is one of shock and anger I'd say.  He was very much loved.

That said, I do fall somewhat on your side of things, he really was a bad teammate this year, even if he did have the right to be very angry over some things. 

Mookie is definitely the worst. No comparison. 

The timing of this move is the biggest WTF for me. 

 

The timing doesn't surprise me.  The meeting with Henry apparently didn't go well, Raffy's lack of hustle made matters worse.  San Fran presumably made a push for the trade recently and they made an offer the Sox found acceptable. 

    

[Hitch]

16 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

The timing doesn't surprise me.  The meeting with Henry apparently didn't go well, Raffy's lack of hustle made matters worse.  San Fran presumably made a push for the trade recently and they made an offer the Sox found acceptable. 

    

But at least wait so you don't have to face him in a few days!  😐

[JerryL1042]

Rafael Devers trade should not even be included in the same sentence as the Mookie Betts trade.

Betts was and still is an all around great ball player, Rafeal(prima donna)Devers is not even close to the same caliber as Betts. Come on be honest Betts is a better offense and defense player than Devers. Devers still needs more training to go from a somewhat good ball player to a great one, right now he is not even close.   

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, Bellhorn04 said:

The loss of Betts stands alone.  That was a grievous mistake.

Bogaerts won't earn his contract, not even close, and Devers probably won't either.

Of the three, the only one who sped their own departure was Devers.  He really let us down as a teammate and a person.  He'll be remembered more like Nomar. 

Saying that "they won't earn their contract" is ridiculous at this point. People were saying that when Betts signed his deal with the Dodgers and his contract now looks like a steal. Devers deal looks cheap compared to what Vlad signed for. I'd rather have Vlad than Devers 100%. Soto signed for 700M! Devers contract is half of that, but we're worried that his contract is "underwater." Total BS. 

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, Bellhorn04 said:

The timing doesn't surprise me.  The meeting with Henry apparently didn't go well, Raffy's lack of hustle made matters worse.  San Fran presumably made a push for the trade recently and they made an offer the Sox found acceptable. 

    

Sox took the very first offer they got and shipped him out of town. So smart! 🙃

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Sox took the very first offer they got and shipped him out of town. So smart! 🙃

Weren't you one of the posters claiming he would never be traded?

[Bellhorn04]

23 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Weren't you one of the posters claiming he would never be traded?

It's up to you to hunt down those who said that. 😉

[Hitch]

48 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Sox took the very first offer they got and shipped him out of town. So smart! 🙃

We absolutely do not know that. 

I know there's (rightly) anger over this, but we don't know what went on behind the scenes, and like it or not, Breslow and Henry are smart guys. They aren't just taking anything, they'd have taken what they see as the best offer for them.

[Bellhorn04]

4 minutes ago, Hitch said:

We absolutely do not know that. 

I know there's (rightly) anger over this, but we don't know what went on behind the scenes, and like it or not, Breslow and Henry are smart guys. They aren't just taking anything, they'd have taken what they see as the best offer for them.

Looks to me like they did OK, frankly, shedding the whole contract and getting back some pitching and prospects.  

[Hitch]

3 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Looks to me like they did OK, frankly, shedding the whole contract and getting back some pitching and prospects.  

I really don't know what to make of the return. 

I do know it'll be years before we can accurately measure it. 

[mvp 78]

13 minutes ago, Hitch said:

We absolutely do not know that. 

I know there's (rightly) anger over this, but we don't know what went on behind the scenes, and like it or not, Breslow and Henry are smart guys. They aren't just taking anything, they'd have taken what they see as the best offer for them.

If they wanted the best offer, they'd wait until the deadline when the prices are higher. The return is awful. Garbage. You can't sell me on these guys. 

[mvp 78]

9 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Looks to me like they did OK, frankly, shedding the whole contract and getting back some pitching and prospects.  

Not good pitching. Warm bodies? 

[Hitch]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

If they wanted the best offer, they'd wait until the deadline when the prices are higher. The return is awful. Garbage. You can't sell me on these guys. 

Like I said, I can't wrap my head around the return right now. But regardless of whether they wanted it done quickly, it doesn't mean they just jumped at the first offer. 

I doubt Devers market would be as robust as some would like to think it is.

[Bellhorn04]

13 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

If they wanted the best offer, they'd wait until the deadline when the prices are higher. The return is awful. Garbage. You can't sell me on these guys. 

Well, it's primarily a salary dump, no doubt about that.  At least there's some possible value in the return. 

[mvp 78]

25 minutes ago, Hitch said:

Like I said, I can't wrap my head around the return right now. But regardless of whether they wanted it done quickly, it doesn't mean they just jumped at the first offer. 

I doubt Devers market would be as robust as some would like to think it is.

I don't know how robust would be, but if they wanted the "best" offer they'd wait it out. They were just interested in getting it done quickly.

[mvp 78]

20 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Well, it's primarily a salary dump, no doubt about that.  At least there's some possible value in the return. 

Maybe there's value? I can't be happy about the phrasing "we need to give it a few years to see how these guys pan out" to feel like it's not going to be very good. If one of these guys was a LEGIT prospect, we'd be hearing that. We've been absolutely sold on some mediocre guys that have come this way. Rubby de la Rosa! Allen Webster! Connor Seabold! Jeter Downs!

[Bellhorn04]

22 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Maybe there's value? I can't be happy about the phrasing "we need to give it a few years to see how these guys pan out" to feel like it's not going to be very good. If one of these guys was a LEGIT prospect, we'd be hearing that. We've been absolutely sold on some mediocre guys that have come this way. Rubby de la Rosa! Allen Webster! Connor Seabold! Jeter Downs!

I don't think there were many buyers on those two.  That was the biggest salary dump of all time.

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

I don't think there were many buyers on those two.  That was the biggest salary dump of all time.

Rubby was Baby Pedro! https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1488338-2013-boston-red-sox-could-rubby-de-la-rosa-be-the-next-pedro-martinez There were so many stories that offseason about him getting his changeup from Pedro. 

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

2 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

It's up to you to hunt down those who said that. 😉

Nah, they know exactly who they are........

[Jasonbay44]

If the argument for this being a good trade is “Devers won’t earn his contract” it’s a bad argument. It’s not our money and ownership has been refusing to spend money as of late.

Devers is one of the best hitters in baseball and is legitimately feared by other pitchers. On top of that he kills the Yankees and performs very well in the playoffs.

Replacing a bat like Devers isn’t easy. 30 homer/100 RBI bats with a career OPS under .850 don’t grow on trees. 
 

The front office and ownership traded a superstar and fan favorite for a mediocre return and I’m supposed to be happy they have more money to “spend?” Yeah, f*** that. They likely won’t even spend the money or another star or plan on using whatever they do spend on more injury prone 1 year rental pitchers like Paxton, Giolito, Buehler and etc. 

The Red Sox absolutely got worse in 2025 and near future and there is no guarantee at all this makes them better in distant future. 

[mvp 78]

Just now, Jasonbay44 said:

The Red Sox absolutely got worse in 2025 and near future and there is no guarantee at all this makes them better in distant future. 

They won't be able to replace his production this year. They'll be able to move some deck chairs around and get under the CBT. Maybe this works towards them having better pitching in the future? Maybe? Everything we've heard about since 2020 is them working towards the future. This is the 6th year of the rebuild. When do they just go for it with the team they have? 

[Jasonbay44]

13 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

They won't be able to replace his production this year. They'll be able to move some deck chairs around and get under the CBT. Maybe this works towards them having better pitching in the future? Maybe? Everything we've heard about since 2020 is them working towards the future. This is the 6th year of the rebuild. When do they just go for it with the team they have? 

That’s my problem, how long does this “rebuild” last? They’ve made the playoffs once since 2018. Every other year has been 3rd or 5th place finish. Trading a 28 year old elite hitter in his prime for a mediocre package to “save money” doesn’t seem like it’s doing a whole lot to be competitive in year 5 of the rebuild. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Was this all a plot since the offseason to get rid of Raffy? Remember, Breslow went to Yale, and all his Asst. VPs are so smaht. It didn't even have to start out nefarious:

We need to get better on D, and Dever is only going to get older... so let's upgrade.

Well, he's an emotional guy and might not like being moved off his position...

Hmmm... what's the worst that can happen: he gets pissed enough to do or say something that would justify us trading him and his contract.

But the fanbase???

Ah, we've got younger, cheaper stars coming soon: Back to the Future! 

[Bellhorn04]

6 minutes ago, Jasonbay44 said:

That’s my problem, how long does this “rebuild” last? They’ve made the playoffs once since 2018. Every other year has been 3rd or 5th place finish. Trading a 28 year old elite hitter in his prime for a mediocre package to “save money” doesn’t seem like it’s doing a whole root to be competitive in year 5 of the rebuild. 

I get what you're saying, and I don't think this is something they really wanted to do.  I think Raffy's attitude was the reason this happened. 

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

14 minutes ago, Jasonbay44 said:

hey likely won’t even spend the money or another star 

And with the track record lately it may make other stars hesitant to sign in beantowne.

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

I get what you're saying, and I don't think this is something they really wanted to do.  I think Raffy's attitude was the reason this happened. 

If the Red Sox aren't equipped to deal with the minimal amount of complaints that came from Raffy, this organization is screwed. Wait until they get a really disgruntled player. Raffy had like 2 press conferences and then shut his mouth.

You can't get a CBO to interview here. Why would anyone ever want to play here? Joke organization.