As we continue sifting through the rubble of the aftermath of former Red Sox designated hitter Rafael Devers shockingly being traded to the San Francisco Giants on Father’s Day, many continue to wonder what the root cause of the trade actually was.
Red Sox brass have been adamant in both press conference settings and in interviews that their main motivation to move Devers was based on a lack of alignment between him and the team moving forward. They’ve been somewhat vague on what that actually means, but the implication is that it has everything to do with his unwillingness to change positions when needed throughout the first part of the season, and what that could mean for how he’ll handle himself the rest of his time in Boston.
But with the Giants taking on the entirety of Devers’ remaining $254 million through the end of the 2033 season, the antennas of both Red Sox fans and media were up.
Was unloading the entirety of Devers’ team-leading contract the true motivation for Fenway Sports Group? Was this a mandate from the office of John Henry to chief baseball officer Craig Breslow?
For an ownership group obsessed with staying under the luxury tax since winning their fourth World Series in 2018, they haven’t earned themselves the benefit of the doubt. And with the perceived weak return Boston received in exchange for baseball’s best DH, it’s a plausible explanation.
Photo credit Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
“I think while it wasn’t a mandate, it was probably a priority,” said WEEI’s Rob Bradford on Thursday’s Jones and Keefe. “To find a team, to identify the team, the ownership group to take on that amount of money, and then pick through what you can get in return.
“I mean, sometimes you can [unload] that amount of money and you get scraps in return. Remember – I mean, go back to when the Red Sox could’ve traded Chris Sale, who was on the IL, a couple years ago. You know, the Texas Rangers were ready to take on the whole amount of money and give basically nothing in return, hardly anything, and the Red Sox wanted more. And they didn’t get the deal done. So I think the Red Sox have sort of hit the sweet spot in their eyes when it comes to the Giants. But to answer your question – yeah, it might not have been a mandate, but I think it was probably a priority.”
“So you like the return?” asked WEEI’s Adam Jones.
“No, no, no, no, no,” said Bradford. “I’m not saying – listen, let’s not get this twisted. As I wrote immediately after, everybody should be mad about this. Fans should be mad at the Red Sox for letting it get to this point.”
Jones replied, “But if they’re hitting the sweet spot on getting rid of the whole salary and what they’re getting back, that would imply – ”
“No, in their eyes they’re hitting the sweet spot,” Bradford interjected. “And their eyes, they were thinking, ‘We’re getting a team to pay down on the entire contract, and we’re getting back these players, who we like, who we think can contribute. And I’m not saying – look, you trade Rafael Devers, I think you gotta get more than Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks and a couple of minor leaguers. Like, that’s just how I feel.
“But in their eyes, they said, ‘If we can get a team to pay down the whole contract and get back pieces that we like’ – like you asked me, what was their priority? The priority was probably to find a team that was gonna pay the most money, and give them the best players in their eyes while paying that ‘most money.’ It’s not me, it’s how they view it.”
Photo credit Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images
Five days after he last suited up for Boston, Devers will be reunited with his former team on Friday night in San Francisco, as the Giants open a three-game series at Oracle Park against the Red Sox.
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