Disgruntled Red Sox slugger Devers traded to the Giants

BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox traded slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday in a deal that could shake up pennant races on both coasts.

The Giants sent right-hander Jordan Hicks, lefty Kyle Harrison, outfield prospect James Tibbs III and minor league righty Jose Bello to the Red Sox for the 28-year-old designated hitter, who had bristled at his demotion from third base this year.

The Giants are two games back from the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers after losing 5-4 to the reigning World Series champion on Sunday night. San Francisco shortstop Willy Adames said on the ESPN broadcast that the team found out about 15 minutes before the game.

"Everybody's so excited," he said during an on-field interview in the second inning. "Me, personally, I'm like thrilled to have him on the team. He's one of the best hitters in the game, and to have him on the team, I think is going to help us do a lot of damage in the division. Obviously we need a bat like him in this lineup."

A three-time All-Star who signed a 10-year, $313.5 million contract with the Red Sox in 2023, Devers is batting .272 with 15 homers and 58 RBIs in 73 games, including a solo shot in Boston's 2-0 victory over the New York Yankees on Sunday that completed a three-game sweep.

But, his relationship with the team began to deteriorate when the Red Sox signed Gold Glove third baseman Alex Bregman during spring training and asked Devers to move to DH; he balked before agreeing to the switch. When first baseman Triston Casas sustained a season-ending knee injury, the Red Sox approached Devers about playing the field and he declined, saying the front office "should do their jobs" and look for another player.

A day after Devers' comments to the media about playing first, Red Sox owner John Henry, team president Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow flew to Kansas City to meet with Devers and manager Alex Cora.

The situation became more difficult when Bregman sustained what the team called a "significant" right quad injury on May 23.

"Everybody around the league, I think, was paying attention to that. When any team is having some kind of drama like that, with a player like Devers — he basically was the face of the franchise," Adames said.

"We're thrilled to have him. Everybody's excited. So we're going to make him feel at home," Adames said.

"I feel like it sends a message that we're going to compete. That we're going to do whatever it takes to win the division."

The Red Sox has won five out of six against their New York rival over the last two weekends to improve to 37-36, but it's still fourth in the AL East, six-and-a-half games behind the division-leading Yankees.

Devers was 20 when he made his major league debut with the Red Sox in 2017. He helped the Red Sox win the 2018 World Series and led the team in RBIs for five consecutive seasons from 2020-24. He has finished in the top 20 in voting for AL MVP five times.

The Giants have lacked slugging since Barry Bonds hit 45 homers in 2004 — his 13th straight season with at least 30; it is the only team in the majors that has not had a batter hit 30 homers since then. Devers has hit at least 30 homers in three different seasons.

Devers is not the first Red Sox All-Star to be traded away: The team sent Mookie Betts to the Dodgers before the 2020 season in a salary dump — just a year after he won the AL MVP award and led Boston to a franchise-record 108 wins and its fourth World Series title since 2004.

But, the Devers deal is perhaps most reminiscent of the 2004 midseason shake-up, when Boston traded disgruntled shortstop — and fan favorite — Nomar Garciaparra to the Minnesota Twins.

The Red Sox went on to win the World Series that year, ending its 86-year championship drought.

This is the latest big move by Buster Posey, a seven-time All-Star who took over as San Francisco's president of baseball operations in September. He signed Justin Verlander to a $15 million, one-year contract in January, and Adames to a $182 million, seven-year deal in December.

"It makes them better right now, for sure," Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw said in a TV interview from the dugout at Dodger Stadium. "Buster Posey's really doing it. Good for Buster over there. He's going for it. I'd consider Raffy one of the top 10 hitters in the game, at worst. He's definitely a game-changer. It will be interesting to see what position he plays over there."

Agencies Via Xinhua