MLB Insider Labels Rafael Devers Trade ‘Godsend’ For Red Sox

When the Boston Red Sox traded disgruntled slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants on June 15, the benefits of the deal went far beyond improving the vibe in the clubhouse and adding fresh faces to the organization. With the Giants taking on the roughly $270 million remaining on Devers’ contract, the Red Sox regained the necessary financial flexibility to invest in other high-impact players.

It comes as little surprise that some of that money recovered from the Devers trade was redirected toward locking up rookie phenom Roman Anthony. The Red Sox wasted little time attempting to lock up the 21-year-old outfielder by coming to terms on an eight-year $130 million contract extension with escalators that could bring the total value of the deal to $230 million when all is said and done.

And with the Red Sox currently sitting in second place in the American League East standings with a record of 64-52 and holding the top Wild Card spot (+2.5), the decision to trade Devers has turned out to be nothing close to the doom and gloom that many baseball insiders predicted for the Red Sox when the shocking trade was announced.

Things have played out quite differently for the Giants since they acquired Devers in June. Sporting a record of 17-26 in the aftermath of the trade, the Giants are currently 5.0 games back of the New York Mets for the third National League Wild Card spot.

During an appearance on The Bleacher Report’s Walk-Off podcast, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman spoke candidly about the reversal of the future experienced by both teams nearly two months later.

“Devers has not been great for the Giants,” said Heyman. “The team has fallen, and they’ve lost, as the chatter told me, eight games to the Dodgers since that trade. They’ve been one of the worst teams in the National League, probably not quite as bad as the Rockies and maybe the Nationals, but they’ve been down there since making this trade. It has not worked.”

Labeling Devers as a “malcontent” who earns too much money at his age to be nothing more than a designated hitter, Heyman believes the move was necessary for the Red Sox’s chances of making it to the postseason this year and for the long-term health of the organization moving forward.

“From the Red Sox standpoint, it was a godsend. Let’s be honest about it. I mean, I know Devers was doing well, but they didn’t have a ton of teams in on him. This was a DH for them,” said Heyman.

Throughout 43 games since joining San Francisco, Devers is batting an uncharacteristic .225 with five home runs and 20 RBIs while striking out 59 times in 160 at-bats. He has a .982 fielding percentage with one error in seven games since making his debut at first base last month.