In a span of less than a year, the Boston Red Sox have managed to strikeout not once, but twice with star players. Not just star players, but superstar players, who were already on the team. Somehow, the big market Red Sox managed to swing and miss on roster management with Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman.
There could be a world where both Devers and Bregman could still be on the Red Sox. Initially, Bregman was supposedly coming in to be the everyday second baseman, while Devers was supposed to play third base. However, that was not the case during Spring Training when the team told Devers that Bregman was playing third, and he was being moved to first base, along with being the DH. After that, things went horribly off the rails.
Red Sox Traded Devers to the Giants
GettyFormer Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers
Fast forward to June 15, and the blockbuster bombshell rocks Major League Baseball as the Red Sox traded Devers to the San Francisco Giants. The return for the superstar player? Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, Jose Bello, and 2024’s 13th overall pick James Tibbs III. The only player to truly come out of that deal to be excited about is Harrison. Giants President of Baseball Operations, Buster Posey, following the trade that sent Harrison to Boston, stated, “Kyle Harrison is a guy that has tremendous upside. I’ve been very outspoken about what I believe the foundation of success is for an organization. It’s pitching and defense. To give up a guy like that is not an easy thing for us.”
Other than that, it’s up in the air with the other pieces in the deal. Some within the Red Sox organization want people to believe it wasn’t a contract dump, but when the Giants are eating more than $250M of Devers’ contract, that doesn’t pass the sniff test.
During Fenway Fest on Saturday, Jan. 10, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic talked with Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy about a few things, including a possible deadline in free agency and this offseason. At one point, McCaffrey brought up the subject of the team “being criticized in recent years, and particularly this offseason, for not spending in free agency.”
Of course, Kennedy pushed back on that notion: “It’s just important to look at the facts. If you go back a year ago this date last year, I believe our organization has taken on close to $500 million in contractual commitments. The guys like Garrett Crochet ($170 million), guys like Kristian Campbell ($60 million), guys like Roman Anthony ($130 million). We’ve added $40 million in payroll through trades. That’s just a fact.”
The problem, though, none of these guys is over 30 years old. Furthermore, they’ve had to dig into the farm system to acquire Sonny Gray, Johan Oviedo, and Willson Contreras. Trading for players is fine, but it seems that the Red Sox are hesitant to sign free agents, especially ones like Bregman, Kyle Tucker, Pete Alonso, Kyle Schwarber, etc.
All of that to say, they let Devers go for “clubhouse concerns”, this, that, and the other, while getting not much back for the player he is. Devers in 2025 between the Giants and Red Sox finished with a .252 average, 35 home runs, 109 RBIs, 33 doubles, 153 hits, 112 walks, a slash line of .372/.479/.851, an OPS+ of 140 (151 in 73 games with Boston), and a 4.1 wins above replacement (WAR) in 163 games.
So, once moving on from Devers, it seemed that the Red Sox were all in for Bregman. He was their everyday third baseman, one of the leaders in the clubhouse, and the future at the hot corner. There was no way they would mess this up and lose not only Devers, but also Bregman within 365 days of signing the latter last February.
Think again.
Oh No, Not Bregman Too
GettyBoston Red Sox’s Alex Bregman
Fast forward once again to that same day in January, after McCaffrey talked to Kennedy at Fenway Fest. The news everyone was waiting for finally dropped. However, this one was not Bregman returning to the Red Sox. It came out that he was taking his talents to Chicago. He signed with the Chicago Cubs for five years and $175 million. The news continued to roll out that there were deferrals, a no-trade clause, and more. The Red Sox had deferrals, but it was a total of $165M, and they would not agree to a no-trade with Bregman.
During the fallout, Steve Perrault, one of the hosts of Section 10, posted on X/Twitter: “The Red Sox signed Rafael Devers to a $331M deal. The Red Sox signed Alex Bregman to a $120M deal. The Red Sox traded Rafael Devers to the Giants and SF ate $251M of that deal. Alex Bregman opted out and signed with the Cubs. The Red Sox didn’t pay $80M of that deal. Between the two deals, the Red Sox won’t be paying $331M total. Which is the exact total of the Rafael Devers deal. Back to Stage 1. John Henry is pumped.”
Jared Carrabis, another host of “The 10”, who also appears on NESN and MLB Network, stated, “The trust that the fans were starting to regain here with the Red Sox, it’s all gone now.” There was a ton more said during the emergency podcast on Sunday, Jan. 11, between Carrabis, Coley Mick, and Tyler Milliken.
When it comes down to it, the Red Sox are now without Devers and Bregman. There is a world where the infield could be Devers at third base, Trevor Story at short, Bregman at second base, and possibly Willson Contreras at first base, or Devers at first with Bregman at third, and Marcelo Mayer at second. Now, it’s all up in the air, and the Red Sox are scrambling.
McCaffrey, in her piece on Monday, Jan. 12, wrote out some options of where the Red Sox could go next. She discussed how Bichette could be the new “primary target” for the team. However, with him being projected to make over $200M, are the Red Sox really in on him? She also brought up Eugenio Suárez, who they’ve been linked to for months. According to The Athletic, they are projecting him to sign for three years and $69 million. However, McCaffrey brings up the amazing point of how Suárez is “undoubtedly an imperfect fit with a career .246 average and 27.5 percent strikeout rate.”
She mentions that Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger are likely off the table as other free agent options. Furthermore, McCaffrey mentioned potential trade targets of Isaac Paredes and Brendan Donovan from the Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals. When it comes to those trades, are the Red Sox willing to dip more into their farm system, when they could just sign a free agent?
In the end, the Red Sox are scrambling, they look like a mess, and the fanbase is beyond heated. The Red Sox put themselves into a corner that will more than likely either make them uncomfortable to either sign someone or trade away a player they don’t want to, in order to get a competent roster for 2026. Regardless of how it all works out now, after it’s all said and done, this could be one of the worst roster managements in recent memory for the Red Sox.
If you don’t include the Mookie Betts trade.
Red Sox Struck Out Twice During the Devers and Bregman Saga