It was a controversial move at the time, and it's clear that they haven't fully recovered from it, but the Boston Red Sox were still right to trade Rafael Devers last year.
Nearly exactly one year ago, Boston traded the three-time All-Star to the San Francisco Giants for Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, James Tibbs III, and Jose Bello. And even though the Red Sox may have flubbed the return (Harrison looks like a Cy Young candidate with the Milwaukee Brewers, and Tibbs is climbing the rankings in the Los Angeles Dodgers' farm system), they're probably happy that they moved on from Devers when they did.
Rafael Devers has been a big disappointment in San Francisco
There were reports about Devers being unhappy in Boston (the team signed Alex Bregman to take his spot at third base and then asked him to play out of position after first baseman Triston Casas went down with an injury), and who knows how bad things might have gotten in the locker room because of it?
Regardless, it's not the Red Sox' problem anymore, and that's a good thing.
Through 162 games with the Giants (the exact sample size for a full season), Devers is batting .235 with 29 home runs and 84 RBIs. His strikeout rates since joining the Giants have been 29.4% and 30.3%, respectively, which are the two highest of his career (27% in 2020 was his previous season-high).
Devers' numbers aren't good in comparison to his past campaigns. And pair that with the fact that he is turning 30 years old in December, is in the third season of his 10-year, $313.5 million contract extension, and probably isn't going to get much better than this, this trade has become disastrous for San Francisco.
It's even gotten so bad that the team is reportedly open to trading the Dominican Republic native, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.
The Giants are open to offers for their three highest-paid position players — Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, Matt Chapman — among other obvious trade candidates, like Luis Arraez and Robbie Ray.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) June 16, 2026
The Red Sox still don't have a Rafael Devers replacement
Yes, the Red Sox dodged a bullet with Devers, and it seems like trading him was the right call after all. But they still haven't filled the void he left as a legitimate power hitter.
One of the biggest problems with Boston's current lineup is that the team doesn't have a ton of power. Willson Contreras (16) and Jarren Duran (11) are the only players on the roster with double-digit home runs. The Red Sox are also tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for the fewest home runs hit this season (58), according to MLB.com.
Even if the team made the right call in trading Devers last year, it's clear that they haven't fully figured out how to make up for his absence. However, they may have some options to fix things ahead of this year's trade deadline, which would be huge if they are actually serious about re-entering the playoff picture as soon as possible.
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