As the news of Boston’s trade of Rafael Devers to San Francisco began to spread Sunday night, executives around the league had reactions ranging from shock to confusion.
“Is this trade real?” one American League executive said shortly after the news broke, more than an hour before the trade became official. “Whoa!”
The Giants sent pitchers Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison along with outfielder James Tibbs III (San Francisco’s No. 4 prospect, drafted 13th overall in 2024) and 20-year-old reliever Jose Bello to Boston for Devers, a three-time All-Star slugger having another huge season at the plate in 2025.
Rival executives tried to make sense of this trade, the magnitude of which we don’t see very often -- let alone in the middle of June.
“I think it gives Boston the opportunity to reset and repurpose a lot of money,” an AL executive said. “For the Giants, it provides them with the big bat they have struggled to draft, develop or acquire without giving up huge amounts of prospect capital.”
Though most executives made sure to note that they didn’t know the behind-the-scenes situation between Devers and the Red Sox, it was widely assumed that the dissention between the sides this year over Devers’ role with the club played a part in Boston’s decision to part ways with the player.
After the signing of third baseman Alex Bregman this past offseason, the Red Sox told Devers to put his glove away, as he would be the team’s full-time DH this season. When Triston Casas suffered a season-ending injury, the Sox asked Devers to take grounders at first base with the idea of playing him there, but Devers refused, criticizing the front office in the process.
“On the surface, it feels like a relationship gone bad that was mismanaged from the beginning,” an AL exec said. “This is probably a welcome outcome.”
An NL executive noted in addition to extricating themselves from such a tense situation, Boston also netted payroll space while acquiring a young pitcher in Harrison who could help their rotation in the short and long term.
“They also get Hicks, who probably belongs in the bullpen,” the NL exec said. “Tibbs adds some prospect depth, and Bello is an interesting flier. It’s definitely an interesting deal.”
Sources said the Red Sox had made it known they were willing to move Devers, though to say they were actively shopping him would be a stretch. That it came together six-plus weeks before the July 31 Trade Deadline was the most shocking part of the five-player deal.
“It’s a pretty good return considering that Boston didn’t have many options,” an AL executive said. “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.”
Devers’ contract generated as much buzz within the industry as the players heading back to Boston. Devers is in the second year of a 10-year, $313.5 million deal; the Giants are assuming the final eight-plus years of the contract, paying Devers more than $250 million through 2033.
“The Red Sox are worse today, but I wouldn’t want to touch the Devers contract,” an AL executive said. “Harrison could be solid. It’s a good deal for the Red Sox in the long run. That’s a long time for a DH to be under contract.”
No player who has signed a contract of 10-or-more years has ever been traded this early in the deal, as Devers was in only the second year of the contract. Alex Rodriguez (Rangers to Yankees in February 2004), Giancarlo Stanton (Marlins to Yankees, December 2017) and Richie Zisk (Rangers to Mariners, December 1980) were all dealt after the third year of their respective 10-year pacts.
“I think history would show that if you could get out of every long deal after two years, you’d be in great shape,” an AL executive said.
Rodriguez and Stanton both were traded to the Yankees, who received money in both deals to pay down the salary owed to the former MVP winners. The Giants are assuming all of Devers’ contract, a detail that caught the eye of many executives.
“It’s crazy for a team to trade a player in year two of a 10-year deal – and maybe even crazier for another team to take on the entire remainder of that player’s contract, particularly when he’s been so outspoken about what positions he is and isn’t willing to play,” an NL executive said. “Not to mention the timing of it, which makes it even more surprising. He’s a really good hitter and the Giants can certainly use a bat like him -- everyone can use a bat like him -- but it’s really a stunner.”
“Having both Devers and [Willy] Adames on the books is going to make life very tough for them in just a few years,” an NL executive said, referencing the seven-year, $182 million deal Adames signed this past offseason. “Devers’ contract is already underwater. Giving up Harrison and Tibbs in order to take on an underwater contract is tough. This will look fine for San Francisco in the short-term, but has the strong potential to crush them when paired with Adames’ contract a few years from now.”
Grading a trade of this magnitude will take years, but the immediate reaction within the industry was that while the Red Sox did well with the return, the key to the move will be what Boston does with the money they saved by moving Devers’ contract.
“What the general public never factors into their knee-jerk trade reactions is what the teams trading away the large contract can now go do with those dollars,” an NL executive said. “Boston should go trade for someone like [Brewers first baseman] Rhys Hoskins right now. Then the deal takes on a whole new dimension.”
“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 said. “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.”