Red Sox trade Devers to Giants for multiple players

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As strange as this may seem, the Boston Red Sox, fresh off a three-game weekend sweep of the New York Yankees, made bigger headlines with the announcement of the trade of three-time All-Star slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants for multiple players.

Devers, who has been with the Red Sox since 2016, hit a home run — the 215th of his career with Boston and 10th most in franchise history — which provided the key insurance run in the team’s 2-0 victory in the series finale.

The joy was evident in the Red Sox locker room following the game. They had just completed a five-game win streak, the longest of the season, upped their record to 37-36, one game over the .500 mark, and had closed the gap between themselves and the first-place Yankees to four games in the American League Eastern Division.

And then, the bombshell news was laid on Red Sox fans: Rafael Devers was history. The price tag for the cornerstone player of this current edition of the Red Sox was lefthanded pitcher Kyle Harrison, righthanded pitcher Jordon Hicks, minor league prospects pitcher Jose Bello, and James Biggs III, the No. 4 draft pick of the Giants.

The Giants will pick up the remaining years of Devers’ contract. He signed a 10-year/$313 million contract extension in 2023. Even the most ardent Red Sox fan is asking why this trade, why now, and what did we get in return? And while they ponder life without Devers, the buzz in San Francisco is off the charts.

Devers has hit 30 home runs three times while in a Red Sox uniform, winning the coveted Silver Slugger Award two times, and is considered one of the elite power hitters in baseball. No San Francisco player has hit 30 home runs in a single season since Barry Bonds back in 2004. His current statistics — a .272 batting average, 15 home runs, 18 doubles, 58 runs batted in, and an OPS of .905 in each of the 73 games he started as a designated hitter, the third most in Major League Baseball — dwarfs the offensive production of his new Giants teammates and adds significant punch to their lineup.

Coming off a weekend series where the Giants lost two of three games to the National League Western Division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, Dever’s arrival can’t help but be a shimmering light to Giants players and fans.

Meanwhile, this trade discussion story in Boston baseball circles will be resonating in the near future. It is no secret that Devers wanted out of Boston the moment the team signed free agent Alex Bregman to a multi-year deal during the offseason. Bregman, a Gold Glove third baseman, signed with the Red Sox knowing that the third base job was his.

Devers was a World Series Champion with the Red Sox in 2018. PHOTO: ALISON FROM HANOVER, MD.

Devers, a poor fielder with a huge bat, fired his opening salvo, stating, “I plan to play third base and not just be a designated hitter.”  Red Sox management was aware of his feelings upon signing Bregman but made the decision that best improved the team’s poor defense. (Note: The Red Sox are still one of the lowest-rated defensive teams in baseball.) Devers’s reluctance to be a designated hitter clearly showed itself by his woeful start at the beginning of this season, striking out 15 times in the first 15 games. 

When Bregman suffered an injury, there was speculation that Devers would return to the field at either third or first base. When that talk dissolved, it was clear that Red Sox management looked at Devers as only a designated hitter. The veteran made no effort to hide his feelings on the issue. The Red Sox management made their statement with the announcement of this significant trade.

With the team on a five-game win streak, why couldn’t the Red Sox management hold off on this move until the Major League Baseball trading deadline on July 31? That is a question to ponder.

But the bottom line is that the deal is done. Rafael Devers is now a member of the San Francisco Giants. The Red Sox’s return on the deal will be heavily scrutinized in the future. The timing of this transaction leaves many people scratching their heads.

A side note, but one that needs to be analyzed, is the way Devers was informed that he was traded while on the team plane before it took off for Seattle. There were reports that the former third baseman was told to take a cab back to Fenway Park, clean out his locker, and move — a cold slap to a player who spent nine years with the team after signing on as a teenage prospect.  But regardless of how this is viewed, one thing is certain. The management of the Boston Red Sox has made a clear statement: “We run this team, and no player is bigger than our team.” This is a strong message to send to every player and employee of this franchise.

Looking back at the roster of the 2018 Red Sox World Series championship team, manager Alex Cora is the only remaining member. Gone are stars Mookie Betts, who was traded to the Dodgers, where he has played on two World Series championship teams in 2020 and 2024; Andrew Benintendi, who was traded to Kansas City; Chris Sale, who was traded to Atlanta Braves where he won last year’s National League Cy Young Award; Xander Bogaerts, who  through free agency went to San Diego Padres; J.D. Martinez, who left by free agency; and now, the departure of Rafael Devers by way of a trade to the San Francisco Giants.

Rookie, Roman Anthony, is the Red Sox centerfielder. PHOTO: BOSTON RED SOX/MLB

Betts, Bogaerts, Benintendi and Devers were all developed through the Red Sox minor league system. Today, they all wear different uniforms while the Red Sox struggle to be better than a .500 team. That is something for Red Sox fans to think about while they pay exorbitant prices for tickets. Let’s see how the newly named big three, Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell, pan out. 

Less than 24 hours following the Rafael Devers trade, the Major League Baseball world got another jolt when the announcement came that Los Angeles Dodgers hitting star Shohei Ohtani, the reigning National League Most Valuable Player, was returning to pitch in his first game since August 2023. He was then a member of the California Angels and had to have Tommy John surgery on his right pitching elbow. The report on Ohtani’s work: one inning pitched, one earned run given up on two soft singles, one wild pitch, 28 pitches thrown, and two pitches clocking in at 100 miles per hour. Phase one of Ohtani’s return to full-time mound duty is completed. The Dodgers won the game by the final score of 6-3. Ohtani had two hits and drove in two runs.