Let’s not mince words — the Boston Red Sox just traded away their best hitter in his prime, and fans have every right to be furious. On Sunday night, the club shipped Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in a move that Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow insists isn’t a surrender in 2025.
But when you offload a 28-year-old All-Star slugger with a .905 OPS, it’s hard to paint this as anything but an organizational retreat.
A Win-Now Move by a Club That Means It
The Giants didn’t blink. In his first big front-office swing, Buster Posey proved he’s not here to fiddle with spreadsheets while the Dodgers gobble up division titles.
He saw a premium bat was available — a lineup-transforming, three-time All-Star — and pounced. That’s a World Series champion making moves like he’s still wearing the gear behind the plate, reading the game with total clarity.
Posey’s Giants were just one game behind Los Angeles when they struck the deal. Now, even sitting 2.5 back, they’ve got a difference-maker with postseason chops — and maybe the most dangerous lefty bat in the division. They haven’t had a 30-homer hitter since Barry Bonds in 2004. Devers brings that drought to a dead stop.
Devers by the Numbers: A Game-Changer in a Pitcher’s Park
Rafael Devers isn’t a maybe. He’s a known. In just 73 games this season, he’s slugged 15 homers, driven in 58 runs, and put up a robust .272/.401/.504 slash line. This is not a guy you trade because you’re planning for 2032. This is a player you build around if you’re serious about winning.
And let’s not forget, he’s doing all this while heading into Oracle Park, a ballpark that eats power hitters for lunch. Statcast ranks it 26th out of 30 in terms of friendliness to hitters. But that doesn’t faze Devers. He’s launched 27+ homers in every full season since 2019 — and he did it while calling Fenway home, sure, but his power plays everywhere.
This kind of move changes not just a lineup but a clubhouse. Giants shortstop Willy Adames summed it up best: “It sends a message. That we want to win.” That’s how you charge up a roster — you show the players you’re willing to do whatever it takes to win.
Boston’s Slow Fade into Process Purgatory
Meanwhile, Boston fans are left wondering — again — what the vision is. Devers was locked into a 10-year deal worth over $313 million. This wasn’t a free-agent walk year or a contract standoff. This was a cornerstone player, and the front office moved him in what smells more like a cap-shaving strategy than a championship blueprint.
Sure, Breslow says this isn’t about punting 2025. But what else is it? The Red Sox brass continues to serve process-heavy press conferences. While Posey, like Texas Rangers GM Chris Young before him, makes actual moves. Remember, Young pulled Bruce Bochy out of retirement and signed Seager and Semien. One year later: rings.
Buster Posey looks cut from the same cloth. He’s bold, instinctive, and not afraid of the what ifs. He saw what his club needed and went and got it.
Boston, meanwhile, just blinked — again. And in a division as cutthroat as the AL East, that’s how you get left behind. Red Sox fans deserve better than timidity dressed in patience. They just watched another club snatch up their franchise player and start writing their own October story.
