Everything to know about the Devers trade
The callers on WEEI Sunday night told the story when it came to the Rafael Devers trade. Confusion. Anger. Intensity. All yes. Apathy? Absolutely not.
"As far as I'm concerned this is 'The Father's Day Massacre'!" - Robert in Chicopee.
"Good riddance!" - Walter in Watertown.
When one of the biggest trades in Red Sox history goes down - on June 16, nonetheless - it is simply not going to be a cut-and-dried, everybody-is-agreeing kind of situation. Rafael Devers being traded to the San Francisco Giants has about as many layers as any transaction could encompass.
There is, however, one undeniable piece of the entire equation: Red Sox fans have every right to be upset.
Upset at the Red Sox. And upset at Devers. A player who could very well end up in the Hall of Fame was traded in his prime for not a whole lot. Sound familiar?
To truly understand why both the Roberts and Walters should be waking up carrying a fair amount of vitriol, the path to this point has to once again be litigated.
- The Red Sox show interest in signing Alex Bregman in the offseason, with the assumption that the free agent would land at second base. Comments by manager Alex Cora, praising Bregman's potential at the position, did nothing to dissuade that notion. But, ultimately, the front office is dug in on upgrading the defense at third base, if not with Bregman than Nolan Arenado. This was clearly not articulated in a palatable manner to the incumbent third baseman, Devers, which ultimately became the root of this chaos. Blame: Red Sox.
- Once the Red Sox did sign Bregman, they finally met with Devers to inform him that he would be transitioning to designated hitter. The problem was this declaration to their player came just days before spring training began. Too little, too late. Blame: Red Sox.
- Devers conducted his media session in Fort Myers, Fla. in an unforgettable fashion, flatly saying he would not be anything but a third baseman. This was the first sign that Devers' perceived lack of respect from the organization was going to overtake any common sense. Devers had pleaded with the team the year before to get more star power, and that's exactly what they did. Blame: Devers.
- Trying to placate Devers, the team told him he would only have to worry about becoming a designated hitter and nothing else. Meanwhile, the man with the 10-year, $313.5 million contract was rebuffing requests from the club to even work out at either third or first base, with the club seemingly walking on egg shells while trying to manage Devers' uneasy mindset. They let him do his thing, getting in just five Grapefruit League games as a DH, paving the way for an introduction to the 2025 season with 15 strikeouts in his first 19 at-bats. Blame: Red Sox and Devers.
- When Triston Casas' season ended and Craig Breslow once again asked Devers to adjust by working out first base, the player seemingly found his avenue to mark the territory he couldn't mark back in February. It didn't matter that this route - even if it was just putting on a glove for pregame exercises - was going to be the undeniable best avenue for the team. Devers was dug in, publicly calling out Breslow while introducing ill-advised comparisons such as the Red Sox asking him to be an outfielder. Blame: Devers.
- The day after Devers meets with the media, principal owner John Henry, team president Sam Kennedy and Breslow boarded Henry's plane for a trip to Kansas City. There Henry and Cora met with Devers to address the DH's comments and continued stance. They all called the meeting productive, yet, ultimately, absolutely nothing changed, both in terms of public clarification or on-field actions. This moment should be looked back on as the jumping-off point for where both sides ultimately landed: the trade. Nothing was fixed. Nothing would be fixed. Blame: Red Sox and Devers.
- The tipping point arrives, with Devers not having budged, and the cloud of the situation continuing to hang over the 2025 Red Sox - even with a five-game win streak under their belt. Breslow finds the organization in the Giants that agrees to pay the remaining $230 million on Devers' contract, while getting some players - pitchers Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks, along with the Giants' first-round pick from last year, James Tibbs - they like. The problem is that while some might consider this the organization's flag-in-the-ground moment, it undeniably weakened their case to be a legitimate contender for 2025. This wasn't the Nomar Garciaparra trade. That got two players (Orlando Cabrera, Doug Mientkiewicz) whose purpose was to help fix the 2004 Red Sox, which they did. This wasn't the Mookie Betts trade. That was in the offseason, with one year left on the player's contract. Unless the money is used for a shock-and-awe acquisition at the trade deadline, the Red Sox dealt one of the game's best hitters for the same reason they signed Devers to the biggest deal in franchise history in the first place - they were painted into a corner. Blame: Red Sox.
- While the baseball world has been left scratching their collective heads when digesting the timing and execution of this trade, most everyone throughout baseball has continued to buzz about Devers' approach for the past four months. With Betts, it was simply the player asking for more money than the Red Sox were willing to give. That isn't uncommon. What Devers did - no matter how some of his teammates might view the situation - was anything but common. Blame: Devers.
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. The Red Sox rug has once again been pulled out from under their fans' feet.
What will happen now? That will be a fascinating part of this story. But that's also for another day. This is about how we got to this point, which is a tale that nobody should feel good about.