Public Criticism Of Red Sox's 'Haunting' Trade Won't Go Away

When can we stop hearing about this one?

Jun 21, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants shortstop Willy Adames (right) douses teammate Rafael Devers following their victory over the Boston Red Sox at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

If recent history has taught us anything, it's that it will take a lot of winning for the Boston Red Sox to shake off the ghosts of their failed long-term relationships.

Five-and-a-half years after trading homegrown superstar Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers, which has never stopped irking Red Sox fans, Boston shipped Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants last June.

The Red Sox quieted the doubters after that trade for a while, because they made the playoffs and the Giants didn't. But now that three of the four players Boston got in that deal have been traded away, the negativity has rebounded in a major way.

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Red Sox's Rafael Devers trade blasted by Bleacher Report

Feb 22, 2026; Scottsdale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers (16) reacts after missing a pitch against the Chicago Cubs in the third inning at Scottsdale Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

On Sunday, Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly made a short list of the "trade fails that will keep haunting teams in 2026," and at the very top was the Devers deal. Kelly's logic was that alienating Devers, then failing to re-sign third baseman Alex Bregman, left the Red Sox's lineup in a significantly worse place than it should be.

"The Red Sox alienated Devers by moving him off of third base in favor of Bregman," Kelly wrote. "Devers probably needed to be moved off of third base, but angering him to the point you lose his bat only would have been worth it if you had a long-term impact replacement.

"Devers is owed $226.5 million over the next eight seasons, which the Red Sox got out of in this trade. The thing is, this is a 29-year-old with an .855 career OPS. Even if Devers spends the rest of his career as a DH/1B, his bat makes him worth that price. The Red Sox would probably be World Series favorites in the American League if they had Devers slotted in to hit cleanup in Alex Cora's lineup in 2026."

To most Red Sox fans, it's not worth rehashing the circumstances that led to Devers' departure anymore. But the more pressing question is whether the reallocation of that money (i.e. Ranger Suárez's contract, Roman Anthony's extension), has been effective enough to justify kicking such a strong power bat to the curb.

Unfortunately, the Red Sox's success will be judged in parallel to Devers' for the foreseeable future. Let's just hope, for Boston's sake, that it works out better than it has with Betts.