The Boston Red Sox traded Rafael Devers because...
Just as fans were settling in for a happy evening coming off a sweep of the rival New York Yankees, a stunning trade of epic proportions unfolded. Rafael Devers, the longest-tenured member of the Red Sox, was traded to the San Francisco Giants for a four-player package.
The Giants will take on the remainder of his $313.5 million contract, the largest financial commitment to a Red Sox player ever. It was the trade that everyone outside the organization thought was never possible. That the idea of Devers getting sent packing was pure tabloid fodder, because surely no matter how disgruntled he was over the events of the last four months, the Red Sox wouldn't cut ties with their best hitter."Per Red Sox sources: the team's feeling was that a $313.5M contract comes with responsibilities to do what is right for the team and that Devers did not live up to those responsibilities," Abraham wrote. "They had enough and they traded him." We don't have the time or space to cover the full spectrum of who's to blame, but suffice it to say that the relationship soured because of errors by all parties. The Red Sox blindsided Devers with a position change in spring training, then angered him further by asking him to switch positions again when Triston Casas was injured. But Devers so much about his pride that he never stopped to think about whether he was hurting the team that had given him everything. In Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, James Tibbs, and Jose Bello, the Red Sox got a hodgepodge of players that might be able to help them now, and should definitely be able to help them in the future. But they just removed the most unstoppable force they had to offer in the lineup, and they did it mostly for non-baseball reasons. There are thousands of words to write about a trade like this, even though we may never know the full story behind the scenes. Maybe there are more moves coming. Maybe this is for the benefit of the team long-term. But right now, we're just left with our mouths open, wondering how on earth we got to this point.Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Boston Red Sox On SI, please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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