Heading into the 2025 season, the Red Sox were widely considered to be the Yankees’ top threat in the AL East, and despite a slow start, five wins in their first six games against the Yanks showed that Boston was no longer a pushover in the division.
There were talks of sport’s greatest rivalry returning to form with Boston calling up Roman Anthony, the top prospect in baseball, in between series victories that continued to inch the team closer to getting back in the divisional race.
Then, with one stunning blockbuster move, the Red Sox reminded the Yankees - and the baseball world - why the rivalry died down in the first place.
Sure, the likes of Chaim Bloom are gone, but by trading Rafael Devers to the Giants, Boston showed it is still the organization that will trade its best player for an underwhelming return package. Just years removed from the Mookie Betts trade that makes no sense to this day, the Red Sox have once again taken a Yankee killer and done the Bombers the favor of shipping them across the country to the National League, and not getting much back in return that can seemingly replace the production they just lost.
So, Yankee fans in unison can give a loud “Thank you” to John Henry and the Fenway Sports Group.
According to reports, Red Sox ownership didn’t shop Devers around before accepting the trade with San Francisco that brought back Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, and low-level prospects. Didn’t bother searching for a potentially superior trade package that could help the team in the here and now, when their season still had life after sweeping the Bombers. Sure, there were suggestions and reports that Devers wasn’t happy with the team after signing Alex Bregman and asking Devers to change positions, but that only came after Bregman was seemingly being pursued to move over to second base. Instead, Devers was asked just before spring training to move to DH, and even after Triston Casas’ season-ending injury, Devers wouldn’t entertain a move to first base to help the club.
Could that be seen as a high-priced player not fulfilling his responsibilities after his club made a big financial commitment to them? Sure.
Is that grounds for dealing an elite hitter in their prime as essentially a salary dump? No, but Yankee fans will take it.
No more needing to watch Devers feast on Gerrit Cole or the short porch at Yankee Stadium (or Devers taking the Yanks' current ace deep, as he did to Max Fried hours before the trade). No more needing to worry about Boston as a threat to storm back into the race in 2025. This was a move by Red Sox ownership that showed it is not the organization it used to be, and that’s good news for the Yankees.
The Red Sox signed Devers to a massive contract extension after letting Xander Bogaerts walk and Henry heard boos from his own fanbase. It seems like the relationship between team and player was rocky from the moment Devers inked that extension. But to handle the trade the way they did reinforces the fact that the Red Sox are still far from the threat they used to be to the Yanks, as the sweep in Beantown suddenly feels a lot different moving forward.