Rafael Devers ‘Did Not Live Up to Those Responsibilities’ Amid Trade From Red Sox originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
In a stunning move, the Boston Red Sox traded superstar designated hitter Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants. With major questions for the front office after trading away a franchise player like Devers, Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe shared the team’s reasoning for the deal on Bluesky.
“Per Red Sox sources:” Abraham wrote. “The team’s feeling was that a $313.5M contract comes with responsibilities to do what is right for the team, and that Devers did not live up to those responsibilities. They had enough and they traded him.”
This Devers trade all stems back from the offseason, with the Red Sox moving Devers from third base to designated hitter after the addition of Alex Bregman. Later, when Triston Casas suffered a season-ending injury, Devers refused to play first base.
His reluctance to move to first caused a stir within the Red Sox fanbase, and after the decision to move Devers in a trade, it left scars within the organization.
Craig Breslow, Alex Cora, and the rest of the front office decided to trade Devers in part for him not moving to first, and causing friction within the organization. Their expectation for Devers wasn’t met, and they moved him across the country for it.
The return of Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, James Tibbs and Jose Bello helps Boston shore up their rotation, while adding intrguing prosptect.s However, the consequence is trading their star designated hitter, who had been hot in 2025.
Devers, through 269 at-bats for the Red Sox, was hitting .271 with a .894 OPS, 12th in baseball. He led the American League in walks with 55, and had 46 runs scored, 73 hits, 18 doubles, 14 home runs, and 57 RBIs in his strong start to the year.
The move came shortly after the Red Sox swept the New York Yankees, and Devers went 1-3 with a solo home run over the Green Monster, likely his last home run as a Red Sox in his career.
Boston’s decision was a stunning one, and the organization made their choice due to Devers not meeting their expectations from a player with such a high salary. The Red Sox will face many changes in the future after this Devers deal, including elaborating on their reasoning more, as this decision is a franchise-altering one.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 15, 2025, where it first appeared.