The Rafael Devers trade, one year later: Red Sox still missing a big bat like that
Gerrit Cole was injured, away from the Yankees, and at home with his family on Father’s Day when he found out.
His wife broke the news, which stunned the household as much as it stunned the Red Sox’ clubhouse and rest of the baseball world: On June 15, 2025 — a year ago Monday — the Red Sox traded Rafael Devers to the Giants.
Devers, Sox slugger, and Cole, Yankees ace, had been marquee nemeses in one of sport’s greatest rivalries. It may well stay that way the rest of his career, Cole figured. And then, all of a sudden, it changed.
“He just has an unbelievable ability to time things up off of me,” Cole said in a recent interview. “So it was a challenge that I was — to a certain extent — looking forward to continuing, having to try to figure out.
“But at the same time, if I don’t, I guess I could be happy about that, too.”
Twelve months later, other pitchers probably can relate. The Red Sox’ lineup hasn’t looked or functioned quite the same since. And as they try to save their season by solving offensive shortcomings, Devers’s caliber of bat is exactly what they have sorely missed.
It still seems to be something of a sore subject, too. Multiple Red Sox players and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow politely declined to reflect recently on the seismic move and the saga that precipitated it.
At the time, the Sox viewed the trade as a worthwhile dumping of the remaining $254 million owed Devers (on a franchise-record 10-year, $313.5 million deal). Breslow inherited and didn’t love the contract, which looked worse in the context of Devers’s defense-related insubordination and attitude problems. The Red Sox got out of it while they could, handing it to another rookie executive in the Giants’ Buster Posey.
Although they have not signed another star to such a mega-deal, the Sox entered 2026 with their highest payroll ever, a projected $269 million, as calculated for the luxury tax, according to Cot’s Contracts. They inked Roman Anthony to an eight-year, $130 million pact in August, and over the offseason added noteworthy financial commitments to Ranger Suarez (long term, via free agency) plus Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras (short term, via trade).
Still, the Red Sox have missed the presence at the plate.
Through Tuesday, Sox DHs had batted .252 with a .315 on-base percentage and .389 slugging mark since the trade. Devers, whose 2026 has been well below his norm, owned a .235/.323/.436 slash line with San Francisco.
The biggest difference is the Sox’ biggest weakness: power. They have gotten 15 home runs from their DH spot over the past year; Devers has hit 28, even while regressing from his All-Star form.
With batting order specifics, meanwhile, the Sox have wandered through the wilderness looking for someone who fits in the No. 2 spot — which some clubs in the modern game use for their best hitter. Think Aaron Judge, Yordan Alvarez, or Mike Trout.
The Sox have used the since-departed Alex Bregman (49 starts), Ceddanne Rafaela (20), Trevor Story (20), Contreras (18), Anthony (13), Mickey Gasper (eight), Abraham Toro (seven), Caleb Durbin (five), Romy Gonzalez (four), Andruw Monasterio (four), Jarren Duran (three), Masataka Yoshida (two), Wilyer Abreu (one), and Carlos Narváez (one).
Chad Tracy, interim manager, doesn’t quite buy into the philosophy of slotting the best guy into the two-hole. For these Sox, that would be Contreras.
“You got a lot of your premier hitters at the top, so they get the most at-bats,” Tracy said, noting that he lately has prioritized keeping a consistent top four of Duran, Rafaela, Abreu, and Contreras. “Whether they hit second or fourth is irrelevant. If Willson comes up and pops a home run in the first inning, a two-run homer, it looks smart. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t. But that’s the thought at least.”
As for the four players the Red Sox received for Devers? Only one remains in the organization. Here’s a look at how the trade tree has evolved:
⋅ RHP Jordan Hicks: Included in the deal as a slight salary counterweight, Hicks had an 8.20 ERA in 21 relief appearances for the Sox. In February, they dumped him and two-thirds of his remaining salary on the White Sox by attaching prospect David Sandlin, receiving minor league pitcher Gage Ziehl in return.
Hicks posted a 5.60 ERA with the White Sox before suffering a lat strain last month.
⋅ LHP Kyle Harrison: Billed at the time by Breslow as possessing “upside to pitch at the front of the rotation,” Harrison appeared in three games (two starts) for the Red Sox. He was set to enter this season as a depth starter, behind the likes of Connelly Early and Payton Tolle, but was dealt to Milwaukee (alongside David Hamilton) for Durbin, Monasterio, and Anthony Seigler in February.
He’s had a standout couple of months and, after a blowup start most recently, owns a 2.72 ERA.
⋅ OF/1B James Tibbs: Probably the most interesting prospect the Sox got back, Tibbs, a first-round draft pick in 2024, hit poorly in a month-plus with Double-A Portland. They traded him and another minor league outfielder, Zach Ehrhard, to the Dodgers for pitcher Dustin May in the final minutes before the deadline.
Breslow’s willingness to include Tibbs to acquire a fringe rental starter surprised members of the Red Sox, Dodgers, and Giants front offices, sources with those teams said. The Dodgers “couldn’t agree to that fast enough,” a source said, when the Sox proposed giving up Tibbs and Ehrhard.
Tibbs has slashed .313/.421/.631 with 18 home runs and 54 RBIs with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate this season, great numbers even in the context of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
⋅ RHP Jose Bello: He put up a 3.04 ERA in eight games with Low-A Salem this year before landing on the injured list last week with a right shoulder impingement. The 21-year-old doesn’t rank as much of a prospect, but he is the last remaining player directly involved in the blockbuster. Maybe there is a bit of a legacy on the line.
“You could think about it like that,” said Connor Wong, who since the end of the 2024 season has been the last man standing from the 2020 Mookie Betts deal with the Dodgers. “He probably doesn’t think about it like that, and if he does, he probably shouldn’t. That’s not going to do him any good on the field.”
Devers is due to return to Fenway Park with the Giants to play the Red Sox on Aug. 21-23.
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