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

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.