Boston Red Sox Given Mediocre Grade By ESPN Insider For Rafael Devers Trade

When you trade one of the best hitters in baseball, it's hard to come out on top, but just how poor was the Red Sox return?

Boston Red Sox designated hitter Rafael Devers (11) bats against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Fenway Park on May 25. | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

ESPN MLB Insider Dave Schoenfield has given the Boston Red Sox a C- for their trade that sent superstar slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants for Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, James Thibbs and Jose Bello.

Given Harrison's potential upside, it's not fair to completely slam the Red Sox. Devers has a big contract, but it doesn't seem out of line with some other recent deals -- such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s $500 million contract. Maybe the Red Sox will take those savings and go after some more pitching help, either at the trade deadline or in the offseason.

Still, when you're looking to trade a player because of a broken relationship, it's hard to get fair value in return -- and it seems as if the Red Sox came up short here. Maybe this will prove to be the best move for the organization in the long run, but Boston's playoff hopes for 2025 take a hit.

Craig Breslow and Buster Posey made the first big move of the summer. Moving foward, here are seven execs under pressure.https://t.co/9jMf2eOpwD

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) June 16, 2025

The relationship between the Red Sox and Devers was broken in the offseason, when Devers was reportedly blindsided by the team's decision to sign Alex Bregman and move Devers off third base. The team also reportedly tried to get him to play first base, and he refused, leaving both sides to mistrust each other.

The Red Sox are 37-36 on the season and just 0.5 games back in the American League wild card chase. For a team that hasn't been to the playoffs since 2021, it's clearly frustrating for fans to see the organization actively make the lineup worse, which they've done with this move.

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