Rafael Devers Is No Longer A Boston Red Sox And It Never Should Have Come To This

The Boston Red Sox swept the New York Yankees, got above .500, are on a five-game winning streak, and only sit 0.5 games out of a Wild Card spot. And yet, Red Sox fans are rightfully furious following the trade of Rafael Devers on Sunday night.

A trade that never should have happened.

This was, unfortunately, a divorce waiting to happen between Devers and the Red Sox, but not due to a lack of production. Devers has been one of the best offensive players in Boston since being called up in 2017, this season being no exception despite starting the campaign in an 0-for-21 slump. Prior to the trade, Devers had a stat line of .272/.401/.905 with 15 home runs, 58 RBIs, 18 doubles and 56 walks in 272 at-bats. He carried the offense in May with 33 RBIs. He’s 10th all time for home runs by a Red Sox, 17th in career RBIs, and is still only 28... yet, he was traded.

All because of Breslow.

This divide began over the offseason when the Red Sox were linked to Alex Bregman and Nolan Arenado, both Gold Glove-caliber defenders. Despite that, Devers was reassured that he would be the third baseman, the idea being that they were looking at these guys to play second or first base. No matter what, Devers was supposedly the team’s third baseman of the present and future. Even Alex Cora said he viewed Bregman as a Gold Glove second baseman, the statement continuing the narrative that they weren't going to move Devers.

Then, they managed to sign Bregman, and the truth came out. Breslow had no plans to have Bregman play second. He wanted him at third base, while he envisioned rookie Kristian Campbell breaking camp as the starting second baseman. He wanted to take Devers’ glove out of the field and push him into the designated hitter role, something that wouldn’t have been a bad idea had he and the rest of the organization didn’t tell him he was their third baseman. The sudden change was a shocker; Devers wanted to play third base. His position. The position they promised him would remain his throughout the entire offseason.

Devers came around on the idea of being the designated hitter after some pushback and, despite wanting to play the field, did as he was asked and put his glove away. He wasn’t happy, but he was doing what could help the team, joining his bat with Bregman's to give the team a dynamic duo in the lineup while adding a Gold Glove defender. And then, on March 28th, Alex Cora was asked if Devers taking ground balls at third base before the team’s first two games of the season meant they were keeping him ready for potentially filling in at third base if needed.

As written by MassLive’s Chris Cotillo, Alex Cora responded with a “No,” followed with “Raffy is the DH. With Raffy, we had a conversation and we talked about it," Cora said. "He's DHing. He's the DH of the Boston Red Sox."

They had no plans for him to touch the field, and they told him as such. Breslow created this problem by his inability to be truthful to his star, his face of the franchise, and instead lied to try and keep him happy. Instead, it created a divide, and members of the media tried to paint Devers as having given up on the team, of him being disgruntled and wanting out. Despite the noise, Devers continued to produce, and was having another All-Star season as a designated hitter when an injury struck the Red Sox.

Triston Casas ruptured his left patellar tendon against the Minnesota Twins on May 2, effectively ending his season. The Red Sox didn’t have many options to replace Casas in the field, as Romy González was the backup but the depth was lacking. The team had Nick Sogard in Triple-A Worcester along with possible options in Nathan Hickey and Abraham Toro who could have been added to the 40-man roster. Breslow had a different idea and approached Devers about picking up his glove and learning first base.

Keep in mind this was the same man who lied to Devers the entire offseason. Devers stated that he would not play first base for the team, as he wasn’t someone who could just slide into a new position. He needed time to learn it, but at the moment, he did not want to play first base. You couldn’t really blame him after he was jerked around by the very man who asked him to move to first base after saying he wasn’t a good defensive third baseman. On May 8, Devers was quoted as saying “they told me that I was going to be playing this position, DH, and now they’re going back on that. So I just don’t think they stayed true to their word.”

The tension rose to the point that on May 9, John Henry flew out to Kansas City, as reported by ESPN, to talk with his star. Henry was joined by Breslow and Sam Kennedy. Cora was there too, where they had “an honest conversation about what we value as an organization and what we believe is important to the Boston Red Sox” according to Breslow.

Now, just over five weeks since that conversation, Devers has been traded on the night he hit his 500th career extra-base hit, a home run that gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead against the Yankees in a game they eventually won, 2-0. There’s little doubt that the trade was due to the tension from him being unwilling to play first base.

And, even if you think his unwillingness to change positions was selfish, you can’t blame Devers for it.

Breslow as the chief baseball officer should have handled the entire situation better. You don’t blindside your face of the franchise during the first week of spring training with a position change without talking about it beforehand. The lack of communication hurts your relationship with the player and will lead to issues down the road like the team saw with Devers’ unwillingness to play first base.

Per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo, Devers never demanded a trade. When he was first caught off guard in spring training, he considered asking for one but never did; he was willing to give the only team he played for in his career a chance. He never wanted out, but grew frustrated from the mixed messages from people within the organization. Ultimately, he felt like a scapegoat for what was becoming an untenable situation.

Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe stated that his sources said “the team’s feeling was that a $313.5M contract comes with responsibilities to do what is right for the team and that Devers did not live up to those responsibilities. They had enough and they traded him.”

Again, none of this should have happened. The Red Sox signed Devers to that extension because of his extremely impactful bat. Breslow should have been honest with him from the beginning of the offseason and told him that they wanted to improve defensively at third base. That, as a team, they couldn’t look to rely on him after he made 12 errors in 2024 and had -9 Defensive Runs Saved. Instead, they gave him the runaround, destroyed the relationship between the franchise and their star player, and shipped him off to a team they’re playing in less than a week, all for a return package that was less than he was worth. The only positive of the trade is that the San Francisco Giants are taking on the entire contract, though, in what is a clear slap in the face to Devers, the Giants are also covered at third base by a premier defender (Matt Chapman).

Losing Devers less than two years into his extension is a mistake. It should be a fireable offense, but unfortunately, Breslow will be safe for the time being. The Red Sox will now have to navigate an offense that just lost its best bat while waiting for Wilyer Abreu, Bregman and Masataka Yoshida to return from the injured list. Breslow just sunk all the momentum the team just built for this season. His tenure in Boston doesn't have to be defined by this trade, but if the core he's building doesn't work out, it will be.

All I can say now is best of luck with the Giants, Raffy. Hopefully, they treat you right.