This story was excerpted from Ian Browne’s Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
BOSTON -- In the 21st century, stunning trades have become part of Red Sox lore.
Nomar Garciaparra, a Boston icon and two-time batting champ, was dealt in the middle of the 2004 pennant race for Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz. That trade worked out pretty well, with the Sox winning their first World Series title in 86 years less than three months later.
Manny Ramirez, a month after he took a swing at teammate Kevin Youkilis in the dugout and pushed revered team traveling secretary Jack McCormick to the floor in the clubhouse over a ticket request gone bad, was dealt to the Dodgers at the buzzer of the 2008 Trade Deadline.
Jason Bay took Ramirez’s place in the lineup and in left field and the clubhouse chemistry immediately improved. The Red Sox came just one win away from a second straight World Series appearance, getting stuffed at the goal line by the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 7 of the ’08 ALCS.
Let’s not forget the Aug. 25, 2012 trade that sent Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto to the Dodgers.
While the Sox got very little in return in terms of player compensation, they rid themselves of roughly $250 million and re-allocated the money to sign Shane Victorino, Koji Uehara, Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes, David Ross and Ryan Dempster. The result? A 2013 World Series championship flag that will hang forever at Fenway.
That brings us to the madness of Sunday, when star slugger Rafael Devers, just hours after he smashed his 215th career homer and 500th extra-base hit, was dealt to the Giants in exchange for righty Jordan Hicks, lefty Kyle Harrison and a pair of prospects in outfielder James Tibbs III (Giants No. 4 prospect at time of the deal) and righty Jose Bello.
While it might take a while to see how this trade works out, here are some potential spinoffs of the deal.
Improved team chemistry
After the acquisition of third baseman Alex Bregman in February, the Red Sox asked Devers to be their new DH. He initially balked at the idea, and dug his heels in during an infamous media availability session. Devers finally warmed up to DH-ing and ripped the baseball these last couple of months with perhaps as much authority as any American League player not named Aaron Judge.
But a storm cloud lingered when Devers showed no willingness to try first base after Triston Casas went down on May 2 with a ruptured left patellar tendon. Quite simply, Devers seemed to be putting himself over the team, even though that same team signed him to a 10-year, $313.5 million contract that started last season.
With Devers out of the mix, the Red Sox aren’t as strong offensively. But they have a better chance to all be pulling from the same rope.
Financial flexibility
Given that nearly all of the value Devers provides is in the batter’s box, it might have seemed unlikely the Red Sox would find a taker for the final eight-and-a-half-years of a contract that might not age well.
Well, they found a team willing to do so in the Giants. They at least got an interesting package in return, featuring two pitchers who could improve their performance with a change of scenery, as well as an intriguing prospect in Tibbs, an outfielder who was the 13th pick in the 2024 Draft.
This trade will ultimately be judged on how chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is able to re-allocate the approximately $280 million they are no longer on the hook for. In other words, it could take some time.
Then again, Breslow could strike for some more blockbuster moves by July 31.
The return of Yoshida
While no one player is going to replace Devers, his departure finally clears the way for Masataka Yoshida to return to the club. Yoshida, who served as a DH for the Red Sox in Grapefruit League games three months ago, couldn’t co-exist on the roster with Devers. The reason? He hasn’t recovered enough from an offseason right labral repair to be able to throw with the intensity required to play the outfield. Now, after a brief Minor League rehab assignment, Yoshida can serve as the DH for Boston while continuing to strengthen his arm.