How Does the Rafael Devers Trade Affect the Red Sox?

• The Red Sox-Giants’ Rafael Devers trade has shaken MLB on several fronts
• Boston made this move immediately after their highest point of the season by sweeping the Yankees
• Devers was happy about the trade
• The team has again drawn the ire of its fans by letting a homegrown star go for a questionable return
• What does this do to their 2025 chances, and how many games will they win?

The Red Sox Brass’ Explanation Why Devers is Now a Giant

Team President and CEO Sam Kennedy and Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow held a Zoom call to discuss the Rafael Devers trade with the media.

On the surface, the sides were at an impasse regarding Devers’ defensive position. They could not find a workable middle ground.

If that was the primary justification for the parties’ no-prenup divorce two-and-a-half years after agreeing to a $313.5 million extension, then it’s fully understandable from the club and player perspective.

However, with the Red Sox, simmering tension is a constant. Perhaps it’s intentional. During John Henry’s ownership, it has led to blissful highs and devastating lows, along with a sprinkling of embarrassment and hypocrisy.

The Zoom call was a series of circular excuses and self-justifications. That’s not to say that the organization is wrong for being frustrated with Devers’ reluctance to move off third base, his unhappiness with serving as the DH, and his outright refusal to take grounders at first base.

They played up the return on the trade (LHP Kyle Harrison, RHP Jordan Hicks, minor league OF/1B James Tibbs, and low minor league RHP Jose Bello). Outsiders blasted it.

For Devers’ part, he seems thrilled and accommodating.

So are his new teammates.

Naturally, public statements rarely reflect private realities.

What Really Sparked the Devers Trade?

According to Yahoo Sports, the Red Sox’ inherent dysfunction extended to its highest-paid player and how it was treating him; the philosophical gap between ownership, CBO Breslow, and manager Alex Cora; and intra-organizational battles that have seeped into the clubhouse.

The chain-of-command ideal and players quietly and compliantly accepting orders from higher-ups ignores the reality that the power structure in sports is fundamentally upside down. The technical underlings — the players — making hundreds of millions of dollars more than their “bosses,” except for the owner, of course.

Devers, with that $313.5 million contract and status as one of the club’s most prominent and popular players, could dictate what he would and would not do. The Red Sox blindsided Devers when they signed Alex Bregman on Feb. 15. It was after spring training had already started. The roster seemed set with him at what he believed to be his rightful spot at third base.

Offensively, Bregman and Devers are nearly interchangeable, though Devers is a rarity as a left-handed batter who hammers flamethrowing lefties. In nine years, Devers’ OPS is .859. In 10 years, Bregman’s is .852. Both have postseason hardware and superstar bona fides.

But Devers is an objectively bad defensive third baseman, and Bregman is a Gold Glove winner at the position.

The team wanted Devers to DH, and he chafed, saying third base is his position.

The team wanted Bregman to play third base, and Devers reluctantly agreed to DH. He got off to a slow start at the plate, but quickly recovered. His offensive numbers are in line with what he’s produced for his entire career, with a .905 OPS, 15 home runs, and an AL-leading 56 walks.

When first baseman Tristan Casas was lost for the season with a knee injury, the club again asked Devers if he’d be willing to play first base. After saying he’d do whatever was necessary to help the team, he refused to play first base.

The disconnect was a catalyst for the trade. Reportedly, Devers did not ask for a trade, but it was also expressed by his camp that he would be ok with one if it did happen.

There’s no denying the financial aspect to it. Clearing $238.5 million from 2026 through 2023 is an undeniable positive and falls in line with past moves made by the Red Sox, notably the huge August 2012 blockbuster when the club, in one shot, cleared a plethora of hideous contracts trading Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, and Carl Crawford for a package of journeyman and bankruptcy-level financial relief.

They invested the saved money in the roster and won the World Series the next year.

As ridiculous as the trade looks in the immediate aftermath, there is some logic to it, even if the players they got from the Giants are as useless as the ones they got from the Dodgers in 2012.

What Does the Rafael Devers Trade Do to the 2025 Red Sox?

Amid the chaos, the Red Sox have six straight and eight of nine to climb to 38-36, the most games over .500 they have been since April 30, when they were 17-15. In June, that doesn’t mean very much, but that saved cash gives them significant wiggle room to make major improvements at the trade deadline.

The media and fans are savaging the trade, though it does bring vast salary relief.

Harrison looks like a backend starter.

Hicks still averages 97 mph on his fastball, but that’s significantly down from his high point of averaging 100.

Hicks’ results have never approached the ceiling his triple-digit velocity indicated it would. He’s been shuttled back and forth between starting and relieving. Bluntly, he’s not a difference maker in either role.

Tibbs was the Giants’ first-round pick (13th overall) in 2024 out of Florida State. He’s got an .857 OPS in High-A Eugene this season. Obviously, he’s a talent.

Bello recently turned 20. He’s struck out 28 in 18 innings with the Giants’ Rookie-level Arizona Complex League team. He’s nowhere close to the majors.

It’s ridiculous to say that the Red Sox are better right now than they were three days ago. But that has little to do with how they will end up. Their current win total odds are at 82.5. To reach that, they would need to go 45-43 for the rest of the season.

Your choice hinges on whether you think they will keep playing as well as they have recently while the organization reels from the negative reaction to the Rafael Devers trade, if you think they will be close enough to a playoff spot at the trade deadline to be buyers, or if they fade and decide to sell.

Judging by the past, it would be hard for Henry and Co. to withstand a sell-off and accept a drop to 90 losses that would accompany it. Over 82.5 wins is the likelier outcome.

So, what are your thoughts on the Devers trade and how it impacts the Red Sox now and in the future?