Whicker: Red Sox decision to trade Devers not as disastrous as many think
The San Francisco Giants acquired slugger Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox on Sunday. Photo: San Francisco Giants/Facebook
June 17, 2025
By Mark Whicker
Canadian Baseball Network
The Boston sports fan in your life needs to know something.
Rafael Devers is not Mookie Betts, and the trade that sent Devers to San Francisco on Sunday is not the Titanic-caliber trade that sent Betts to the Dodgers.
Yes, the fear and loathing are real and understandable. Brad Marchand, supposedly a Bruin for life, got away to Florida and is not only on the bus that is tracking down a second straight Stanley Cup, but driving it. Aaron Nesmith, a drop-in for the Celtics whenever their key players needed a breather, is a priority scorer and defender for the Indiana Pacers as they battle Oklahoma City in the NBA Finals.
Why, even Bill Belichick had found the fountain of youth upon leaving, or being asked to leave, New England. You might have heard that he is coaching North Carolina with the help of 24-year-old executive assistant Jordon Hudson. Wonder if she calls him Big Beautiful Bill?
Anyway, the Red Sox dealt Devers to San Francisco for pitchers Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison and two prospects Sunday. Devers had just homered off Max Fried as the Sox finished a three-game sweep of the Yankees. Nice way to step on your own headline, right?
Boston had won eight of 10, including five of six over the Evil Empire, and had given up eight runs in its previous five games. A rotation of Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito, Walker Buehler and Hunter Dobbins had averaged seven innings in its past starts and gone 4-0, and the Red Sox were within a half-game of the final American League wild-card spot on Monday morning.
Trading your best player, unless it’s for someone else’s best player, is not a momentum-builder. Devers had led the A.L. in walks and had a .905 OPS, with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs. His slugging percentage has ranged from .500 to .538 in each of the past five seasons, and he’s 28. Unlike Betts at the time, he’d already signed up long term, having signed a $331-million, 10-year deal that takes him through 2033. But there were defensible reasons to trade Devers, starting with his defence. He led A.L. third basemen with 12 errors in 2024. When the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman, one plan was to play him at second. When the plans changed and Bregman went to his normal home at third, Devers erupted. The Red Sox made him the designated hitter, but when Triston Casas got hurt, they wanted to move Devers to first. He didn’t like that either. It got so tense that owner John Henry flew to Kansas City to sit down with Devers and break bread. When that didn’t work, club president Craig Breslow worked the phones until he got a taker.
Betts, of course, was the best right fielder in the game but is playing shortstop now because that’s what works for the Dodgers. Over the past 21 years or so the Red Sox have tried to put all above one. Dustin Pedroia and Mike Lowell wanted nothing more than winning, and David Ortiz rebuked Devers for not getting with the program.
Boston is basing its tomorrows on the young trio of Roman Anthony, Marcelo Meyer and Kristian Campbell, whose work at second base convinced the Red Sox to use Bregman at third. Moving Devers gives them more regular at-bats. It also removes a clubhouse cloud.
It’s likely the Sox will score enough runs without Devers. They’re second in the American League in runs and OPS. By dumping Devers’ money they can create another package and go for an expensive pitcher at the trade deadline, or in the off-season.
Hicks was once a 100 mph sensation for the Cardinals, as a setup reliever, and once struck out 12.7 batters per nine innings for the season. But the plate has never quit moving on him, and he has a nine-inning walk rate of 4.5. Harrison was a third-round pick who became a prize prospect. Through 39 big-league appearances he’s still a blank slate.
Meanwhile, San Francisco is only two games behind the Dodgers in the N.L. West. Devers gives the Giants what they needed most, an elite bat for a team that ranks 11th in National League OPS. Former MVP and three-time World Series winner Buster Posey is in charge now, and he knows the Giants can’t waste the promise they’ve shown. Devers won’t be playing third base with Matt Chapman around, and Wilmer Flores has been a strong DH, and there’s a palpable hole at first base. Manager Bob Melvin will figure out something, but what they’re all envisioning is a baseball assault on McCovey Cove, which has been pretty much ripple-free since Barry Bonds left.
The Betts trade, before the 2020 season, brought outfielder Alex Verdugo, infielder Jeter Downs and backup catcher Connor Wong, the only one of those ex-Dodgers who’s still with Boston. Since then, the Sox have been one game under .500, with three cellar finishes in six years. As the Dodgers have learned, Betts’ presence touches every corner of a franchise. Letting him go was a mistake the Red Sox still haven’t overcome. Trading Devers might not be quite like addition by subtraction, but it gets rid of the division.