BREAKING: Rafael Devers Traded To San Francisco Giants

57 minutes ago, redsoxrules said:

Why trade if you're getting garbage in return? Wow, they got nothing for him. Like wtf

Exactly the way I see it.  Not a trade but a dumping of Devers salary and disgruntlement.  

I have backed Devers relentlessly this season, but have also agreed he's being paid an awful lot to be the DH.  

Season to date, by far the two best Sox bats have been Bregman and Devers. 

Coming at a time when the Sox have gone 8-2 in their last 10 games and climbed back above .500, the message here seems to be:  forget this season and keep cheering for our three rookies.  They are the future.  In addition, Devers salary/contract will be put to use in acquiring more pitching or whatever.  

12 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

The reason the relationship soured was all on Breslow anyway. 
 

Fire Breslow.

And not on the guy who effectively said “if I can’t play where I want to play, I’m not going to play anywhere”?

Or the manager who agreed?

1 minute ago, Maxbialystock said:

Exactly the way I see it.  Not a trade but a dumping of Devers salary and disgruntlement.  

I have backed Devers relentlessly this season, but have also agreed he's being paid an awful lot to be the DH.  

Season to date, by far the two best Sox bats have been Bregman and Devers. 

Coming at a time when the Sox have gone 8-2 in their last 10 games and climbed back above .500, the message here seems to be:  forget this season and keep cheering for our three rookies.  They are the future.  In addition, Devers salary/contract will be put to use in acquiring more pitching or whatever.  

 

The timing could not have been worse here.  Sweep the Yankees, climb over .500, get back in the race.  And then unload the superstar hitter…

2 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Shouldn't a GM be able to get his manager to even ask/tell the player to play where he should be playing?

To what end?  Devers didn't like being displaced from a position he had played for 8 years, but Cora got him to embrace DH, where he did pretty well.

Meanwhile, the loss of Casas was a net positive because Toro and Gonzalez are both better.  There was absolutely no need to move Devers to 1b.  Did I forget to mention that Devers would probably have committed more errors, both mental and physical, than he ever did at 3b?  

13 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Shouldn't a GM be able to get his manager to even ask/tell the player to play where he should be playing?

Absolutely! Breslow should have TOLD Cora that the discussion must happen no matter how uncomfortable it might be. If he refused he should be fired. If Devers then refused to play where he was told to play he sits or gets traded. 
Chain of command…..

3 minutes ago, notin said:

And not on the guy who effectively said “if I can’t play where I want to play, I’m not going to play anywhere”?

Or the manager who agreed?

Before the season started Devers had to accept losing 3b, which he loved playing and had played for 8 seasons.  Bregman was simply better.  So Cora convinced Devers to embrace DH, which he in fact did and became the 2d best bat on the team and at one point at the most rbi's in MLB.  

It was after all that happened that Breslow got the idea that, with Casas out, the team's second best bat had to be moved yet again, this time to a position he had never played.   To me that was just dumb because what we have in fact seen is that Toro and Gonzalez are way better then Casas was when he was hurt.  To make matters worse, Breslow went public with Devers refusal and even got the owner involved.   Now it was a huge deal that garnered headlines everywhere.  Devers was a bum, a quitter, a problem.  I disagree with that characterization, but Breslow made it a big deal, so of course Devers had to go.

Now that the deal is done, I think the Sox will hurt with their two best bats out, but agree  Devers' salary can now be applied to other needs.  

15 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

Exactly the way I see it.  Not a trade but a dumping of Devers salary and disgruntlement.  

I have backed Devers relentlessly this season, but have also agreed he's being paid an awful lot to be the DH.  

Season to date, by far the two best Sox bats have been Bregman and Devers. 

Coming at a time when the Sox have gone 8-2 in their last 10 games and climbed back above .500, the message here seems to be:  forget this season and keep cheering for our three rookies.  They are the future.  In addition, Devers salary/contract will be put to use in acquiring more pitching or whatever.  

 

The message to the players is this: it’s a team sport and your job is to do what’s best for the TEAM as determined by management. “Me first” isn’t going to be tolerated.

15 minutes ago, notin said:

The timing could not have been worse here.  Sweep the Yankees, climb over .500, get back in the race.  And then unload the superstar hitter…

I'm not sure about superstar, but agree his was our 2d best bat after Bregman, who will be out until July.  

I agree with how the team has been playing recently--this is very bad timing.  On the other hand, that big salary could be applied to a bigger need--better pitching.  

3 minutes ago, FredLynn said:

The message to the players is this: it’s a team sport and your job is to do what’s best for the TEAM as determined by management. “Me first” isn’t going to be tolerated.

I would agree if in fact it was best for the team.  But it absolutely was not.  Toro and Gonzalez have been excellent at 1band way better than Casas was.  His injury was a blessing for the team.  Meanwhil, Devers was having a career year at the plate as DH.  That's why Breslow couldn't convince Cora to tell Devers he should play 1b.  

You guys are falling for this "best for the team" crap because Breslow went public with it and even got JH involved.  

2 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

I would agree if in fact it was best for the team.  But it absolutely was not.  Toro and Gonzalez have been excellent at 1band way better than Casas was.  His injury was a blessing for the team.  Meanwhil, Devers was having a career year at the plate as DH.  That's why Breslow couldn't convince Cora to tell Devers he should play 1b.  

You guys are falling for this "best for the team" crap because Breslow went public with it and even got JH involved.  

Casas got off to a slow start but I believe he would have come around. Toro and Gonzales have been great-but I doubt they can sustain this pace, not that I wouldn't love that.

No, you cannot have a player making decisions about where he will or will not play, no matter who he is. That is the tail wagging the dog. This would have leaked out anyway, regardless of whether or not Breslow went public-because it was the obvious move after Casas got hurt. 

Its a TEAM sport. There's no "I" in TEAM.

28 minutes ago, oldtimer said:

Yes, we have to look at the positives and  negatives.

On the positive side, Devers is currently a very productive hitter who has great hand-eye coordination. But as a DH that's what he brings and I don't believe he has ever been a leader in the clubhouse. 

On the negative side, he is getting $30 mil/year to be a DH. He is on a long term contract and he swings at a lot of balls out of the zone. My question is what happens when his natural talents are eroded with age.

Clearly there has been friction between Devers and the front office. Has that become a distraction in the clubhouse?

I am surprised by the trade but not shocked by it. The Sox appear to be rebuilding around some really talented players, some already in the majors and some knocking on the door. Perhaps Devers didn't fit well enough on a long term basis.

As always, very well said, oldtimer. You said it all. I can't disagree with a single word.

I'm sure this trade will go on to be discussed as much or more than the Betts trade, but I'm not sure much more can be added.

2 minutes ago, jad said:

Yeah, just like the bosses in other industries, right?  How dare employees suggest they have any rights?

They have rights. If they don't like the rules they can find work elsewhere. That is the choice I was given when I was TOLD I was transferring to another more distant facility. They DO NOT have the right as players to tell management where they will or will not play.