Category: Sports News

Why MLB exec thinks Red Sox ‘did well' in Devers trade with Giants originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The consensus in the media and especially among the fanbase is that the Boston Red Sox did not do a good job in the Rafael Devers trade with the San Francisco Giants.

The deal, which was announced Sunday, was stunning. The Red Sox had just completed an impressive sweep of the rival New York Yankees at Fenway Park. For the first time all season, the Red Sox had built some real positive momentum.

And then, just like that, the face of the franchise was gone. And the group of players Boston received in return for an All-Star caliber player in Devers looks, at least on paper, to be underwhelming.

The #RedSox today traded 3B/DH Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants, in exchange for LHP Kyle Harrison, RHP Jordan Hicks, minor league OF James Tibbs III, and minor league RHP Jose Bello.

Harrison has been optioned to Triple-A Worcester.

— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 16, 2025

But not everyone views the trade that way.

MLB.com reporter Mark Feinsand spoke to several executives across the league to get their opinions on the trade. One National League executive actually thinks the Red Sox “did well” in the deal.

“They definitely got some good players with upside, so when you combine those guys with whatever they get with the repurposed Devers money, I think the Red Sox did well,” an NL executive told Feinsand.

“But far more important than the player return is the fact that they were able to move Devers and all of his money. They just signed him, so to have changed their mind on that kind of commitment so quickly really means that they felt they had to move him, which is a really difficult spot to be in. They moved quickly, kept it quiet, and pulled it off.”

An anonymous American League exec also thought the Red Sox did OK based on the situation.

“It’s a pretty good return considering that Boston didn’t have many options,” an AL executive told Feinsand. “I think there was a path to get him to first base — maybe in 2026 — but that would have required some serious diplomacy on [chief baseball officer Craig] Breslow’s part. And in the meantime, they had nowhere to go with [DH Masataka] Yoshida. I was surprised they got real talent back while moving all of that money.”

If any of the four players the Red Sox acquired from the Giants makes a positive impact in Boston, that would obviously make the deal look a lot better. But this trade will ultimately be judged on how the Red Sox upgrade their roster with the money they saved by getting rid of Devers’ contract. His deal had eight years and about $254 million remaining, and that’s a significant amount of money.

For example, if the Red Sox use this money to acquire a starting pitcher who can be an ace alongside Garrett Crochet, then the deal will look a lot different. But it’s up to chief baseball officer Craig Breslow to find the most effective way of using the team’s new financial flexibility.

Devers leads Giants in first All-Star voting return before debut originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Rafael Devers has yet to make his Giants debut, and the left-handed slugger already leads the team in the 2025 All-Star Game fan voting.

Yes, you read that right.

A day after the 28-year-old’s shocking blockbuster trade from the Boston Red Sox to San Francisco, MLB released the first All-Star return, with Devers amassing 796,382 votes. 

The Giant who has the most All-Star votes after the first round: pic.twitter.com/m5Nub0ekBa

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) June 16, 2025

That makes Devers the Giants player with the most votes and a distant second to Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani in the designated hitters category. 

Third baseman Matt Chapman, per the figures released on Monday, is the Giants player with the second most number of votes, tallying 183,223.

Voting leaders through the first MLB All Star ballot update! pic.twitter.com/TJH7MOU5MK

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 16, 2025

Devers, in 73 games with Boston this season, batted .272/.401/.504 with 15 home runs, 58 RBI and 56 walks in 334 plate appearances.

Meanwhile, Devers has yet to make a single play appearance for San Francisco, and his All-Star pedigree is already speaking for itself.

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What's next for Red Sox after Devers deal? Making sense of Breslow's bold move originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

With some Boston Red Sox fans only starting to recover from the infamous Mookie Betts trade, the club made another one of the most controversial moves in the franchise’s history.

On Sunday, fresh off an uplifting three-game sweep of the New York Yankees, the Red Sox traded veteran slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for right-hander Jordan Hicks, left-hander Kyle Harrison, minor-league outfielder James Tibbs, and minor-league righty Jose Bello. The deal’s bizarre timing left many, including former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, thinking the reports of Devers’ departure had to be fake.

They weren’t.

The Red Sox killed any momentum from sweeping the Yankees and winning eight of their last 10 games. They shipped Devers to San Francisco for an underwhelming return, and though they shed the $254 million remaining on his contract, they reminded their frustrated fan base that pinching pennies takes precedence over assembling a winning ballclub.

Before we turn the page, it’s important to explain how we got here. Boston’s offseason signing of All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman led to the club asking Devers to move from third to designated hitter. Devers, who led all American League third basemen in errors for seven straight seasons, scoffed at the idea but ultimately acquiesced and became one of the league’s most productive DHs.

When Triston Casas went down with a season-ending knee injury in May, the Red Sox asked Devers to dig his glove out of his locker and take over at first base. Devers declined and publicly called out chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, prompting Breslow and team owner John Henry to fly to Kansas City for a face-to-face meeting with the disgruntled slugger..

Breslow and manager Alex Cora described the meeting as “productive,” but Devers still never showed a willingness to play first. According to Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe, the Red Sox felt that Devers’ $313.5 million contract “comes with responsibilities to do what is right for the team, and that Devers did not live up to those responsibilities.”

That may be true, but it doesn’t excuse the club’s poor handling of one of its biggest stars.

While Devers should have put his anger aside and put on a first baseman’s mitt, poor communication from Breslow and Co. doomed the relationship from the start. Devers took reps at third base in spring training, and Bregman was signed with the expectation that he’d shift to second base. Instead, Bregman immediately took over at third, blindsiding the club’s longest-tenured player.

In a vacuum, there’s a valid argument for trading a stubborn $300 million DH. But the timing of the move was inexcusable. Not only did Breslow’s bold decision destroy the good vibes surrounding a team that finally found its stride, it also exposed the short-sightedness of a front office with a fragile ego. It’s fair to assume the Red Sox would have gotten much more in return for Devers had they waited for a bidding war around the MLB trade deadline.

Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw has hilarious reaction to Giants’ Rafael Devers trade

We could go on about why Breslow and the Red Sox deserve all the criticism they’re getting, and will continue to get for the foreseeable future. But what’s done is done, and it’s time to figure out what’s next for a franchise that can’t seem to get out of its own way.

Five years from now, the Devers deal won’t be judged solely by the lackluster return of Hicks, Harrison, Tibbs, and Bello. Instead, it will be evaluated by how the front office utilizes the $254 million freed up by dumping Devers’ contract. Big names expected to hit the free-agent market next winter include Kyle Tucker, Pete Alonso, Dylan Cease, and Zac Gallen. Of course, recent history suggests the Red Sox won’t be willing to outbid other big-market teams for players of that caliber.

Bregman’s uncertain future in Boston also becomes an even more pressing issue. His three-year, $120 million contract includes an opt-out after each of the first two seasons. Locking up the two-time World Series champion long-term should be a priority.

Devers’ absence also opens the door for Masataka Yoshida’s return from the injured list. Yoshida had offseason shoulder surgery that has prevented him from throwing, but he can now return to his DH role. He slashed .280/.349/.415 with 10 homers and 56 RBI in 108 games as the Red Sox DH last season.

In all likelihood, Devers won’t be the only notable Red Sox player moved this season. The club is considerably worse without his bat in the lineup, meaning it could get ugly over the next month heading into the trade deadline. Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Walker Buehler, and Aroldis Chapman are among their most valuable trade chips if they decide to sell, and they could be on the trade block even if the team remains in contention.

It’s impossible to predict where Boston goes from here, because whether it’s Breslow or Chaim Bloom leading the charge, the organization has no real sense of direction. One of the league’s richest clubs remains obsessed with financial flexibility despite consistently failing to put those funds to good use.

Nonetheless, the Red Sox will look to ignore the noise and pick up where they left off when they begin their three-game series in Seattle on Monday. They’re now 6.5 games back in the AL East with a 37-36 record and only a half-game out of a playoff spot, making the timing of the Devers deal even more confounding.

After the Mariners series, Boston will head to San Francisco for a must-watch series against Devers and the Giants starting on Friday.

Breslow and Red Sox CEO/president Sam Kennedy will address the media via Zoom before Monday’s game at 8 p.m. ET.

A's rookie Wilson leads AL shortstops in first All-Star voting return originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Jacob Wilson’s incredible Athletics rookie campaign keeps getting better. 

After taking home AL Rookie of the Month for May, the 23-year-old led AL shortstops with 562,696 All-Star votes after MLB released the first return on Monday afternoon.

A’s in MLB All-Star Game voting:
– Jacob Wilson 1st among AL shortstops
– Brent Rooker 7th among DHs
– Tyler Soderstrom 14th among outfielders pic.twitter.com/tVPQojuhxn

— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) June 16, 2025

Wilson is followed by Bobby Witt Jr. (519,984), Jeremy Peña (341,515), Bo Bichette (316,538), Anthony Volpe (201,891), Zach Neto (190,527), Gunnar Henderson (157, 389), Trey Sweeney (150,787), J.P. Crawford (142,123) and Corey Seager (129,579).

Despite the A’s holding a 29-44 record, it’s unsurprising to see true baseball fans give Wilson his flowers during the 2025 MLB season. 

Wilson has the game’s second-best batting average at .367, behind Aaron Judge’s .378, and is carrying a .915 OPS with 98 hits, 38 RBI and eight home runs. A staple in manager Mark Kotsay’s lineup, Wilson also has played 67 of a possible 73 games in 2025.

The A’s selected Wilson, the son of former MLB All-Star shortstop Jack Wilson, No. 6 overall in the 2023 MLB Draft, and he’s quickly ascended into one of the game’s brightest young stars and everyday starters.

Wilson is primed to be the AL’s starting shortstop in the 2025 All-Star Game on July 15 in Atlanta. But he isn’t the only Athletic to show up on the league’s first All-Star voting return.

Brent Rooker sits at seventh among designated hitters and Tyler Soderstrom 14th among outfielders. Rooker is slashing .278/.350/.497 with 80 hits, 41 RBI and 15 homers, and Soderstrom .254/.343/.459 with 68 hits, 45 RBI and 14 homers.

If nothing, the A’s have a solid trio of bats who potentially can help the franchise claw back into the MLB playoff race.