Former Red Sox Executive Shades Mookie Betts Trade Amid Rafael Devers Drama

J.P. Hoornstra | May 10, 2025

Boston Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts (50) celebrates with third baseman Rafael Devers (11) after hitting a two run home run against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The February 2020 trade that sent Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers continues to haunt the Boston Red Sox.

The Red Sox decided to trade Betts after he rejected the team's offer for a contract extension. He later signed a 12-year, $365 million deal with the Dodgers — more money than the Red Sox reportedly offered him to stay in Boston, though Betts himself has disputed a widely reported $300 million figure.

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When Boston moved on from Betts, it turned its attention to Rafael Devers. The third baseman signed a 10-year, $313.5 million extension with the Red Sox in January 2023, giving them a franchise cornerstone to rebuild around.

"Cornerstone" is looking more and more like Devers' preferred metaphor for his stature with the team. A third baseman at the time of the contract, he only begrudgingly changed positions to accommodate the signing of free agent Alex Bregman last winter.

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Then, when first baseman Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury last week, Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow asked Devers if he would move to first base. It didn't go over well.

Devers refused to budge.

Rafael Devers on Red Sox: "Now I think they should do their job essentially and hit the market and look for another player (to play first base). I'm not sure why they want me to be in between the way they have me now."

— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) May 8, 2025

"Now I think they should do their job essentially and hit the market and look for another player (to play first base)," he told Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. "I'm not sure why they want me to be in between the way they have me now."

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Betts, of course, had no problem moving positions — from right field to second base, then from second base to shortstop and back — as the Dodgers' needs shifted. Already a Gold Glove Award winner in the outfield, Betts' defensive metrics are among the best in baseball this season at shortstop.

None of this was lost on Zack Scott, the former New York Mets general manager who was part of Boston's front office while Betts patrolled the Fenway Park outfield.

Meanwhile, Mookie Betts is playing SS after being a platinum glove-winning OF and a far superior player to Raffy. https://t.co/w0BsWiM11B

— Zack Scott (@ZackScottSports) May 7, 2025

"Meanwhile, Mookie Betts is playing SS after being a platinum glove-winning OF and a far superior player to Raffy," Scott wrote Wednesday on Twitter/X.

The longtime baseball executive wasn't done.

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"The Sox botched this by moving (Devers) to DH and not 1B, using spring training to get reps," he wrote on Twitter/X Thursday. "I get Raffy’s frustration, but this is a leadership opportunity for him to put team above self. I'm concerned (Breslow) and (manager Alex Cora) are not aligned, and I feel Sox ownership has prioritized IQ over EQ with their last two GMs rather than having more balance. I have more thoughts on all of it. Maybe I'll gather them and make a video if anyone cares. There are many lessons to be learned and potential solutions."

Chaim Bloom, formerly the top baseball operations man in Tampa Bay and soon to assume the same position in St. Louis, was the predecessor to Breslow who traded Betts.

Two World Series championships later, the Dodgers can thank their lucky stars for the Red Sox's missteps.

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