Red Sox Predicted To Cut Ties With Two All-Stars In Wake Of Rafael Devers Trade

It might even be more than two if this prediction holds up...

Apr 20, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Fans line the field in front of the Green Monster as the Chicago White Sox warm up before a game at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox are the most controversial story in professional sports this week.

Now that they've traded their best hitter in Rafael Devers, the Red Sox are under immense scrutiny. This was supposed to be a win-now season, and on Monday, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow defiantly declared that they still intended to win, perhaps even more so than they did when Devers was on the team.

“I do think there’s a real chance that at the end of the season, we’re looking back and we’ve won more games than we otherwise would’ve," Breslow said Monday during the Red Sox's livestreamed press conference.

Not all baseball analysts agree, though.

On Tuesday, Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer predicted that the Red Sox would sell at the trade deadline, and specifically that All-Star pitchers Walker Buehler and Aroldis Chapman, who are both on expiring contracts, would be on the move.

"At least on paper, the Red Sox made a good deal when they offloaded Devers (more specifically, his contract) to the Giants," Rymer wrote. "As to their contention chances, well, it's a disaster. They subtracted their best hitter and didn't add much in the way of immediate impact, and you naturally have to wonder about whether the team will come to miss Devers' bat even if it doesn't miss his attitude.

"The guess here is the Red Sox are in for some short-term pain, which could facilitate the availability of Walker Buehler, Aroldis Chapman and maybe even controllable types like Wilyer Abreu."

Abreu is one of the players who seems much less likely to be dealt after the Devers trade, though it also taught us one should never say never about this Red Sox team. Buehler and Chapman, though, would be obvious candidates to help a playoff team thanks to their wealth of experience. Each has two World Series rings.

It's all up to the 26 players on the current roster. They've won six games in a row (five with Devers), and if they can keep up the momentum, the front office is likely to reward them. They've also got star third baseman Alex Bregman coming back sometime in the next month.

But if they can't stay above water with Devers out of the picture, selling might be the only option.

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