The entire Major League Baseball world was left speechless Sunday evening when the news broke that the Boston Red Sox traded designated hitter Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants.
The Giants acquired the three-time All-Star for starting pitchers Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison, outfield prospect James Tibbs, and Jose Bello, a 20-year-old pitcher from the Dominican Republic who is yet to surpass rookie ball. The Red Sox assigned Harrison to Triple-A Worcester following the trade.
Whether the Giants end up the winners of their trade for Devers remains to be seen, but one of Boston’s American League East rivals is ecstatic that the 15-home run slugger is now out of the division.
Yankees Thrilled to See Devers Depart AL East
The media and fan reactions to the Devers trade made for great entertainment. During ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball broadcast between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants, sideline reporter Buster Olney revealed a text he received from a New York Yankees executive, who seemed to be relieved that Devers is no longer a threat to their team 13 games a season.
“Glad he’s gone. Yankee killer,” the executive wrote in his text to Olney, per Jimmy Hascup of NJ.com. “Good riddance. Thank God, because this guy murders us.”
Hascup added that one of ESPN’s commentators received a text from Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
“Analyst Eduardo Perez said he got a text from Yankees manager Aaron Boone, which was simply an emoji with bulging eyes, mouth wide open,” Hascup wrote.
Dever’s Previous Success Against the Yankees
Devers was a thorn in the New York Yankees’ side for several years, starting his rookie year in 2017. His first notable moment against New York came in a regular season game at Yankee Stadium during his rookie season when he hit a ninth-inning game-tying opposite field home run on a 103 mph fastball thrown by Aroldis Chapman.
From there, he continued to dominate the Yankees’ pitching staff over his eight and a half seasons with the Boston Red Sox. After hitting a solo-homer in a 2-0 win over New York on Sunday, Devers ended his career in a Red Sox uniform against the Yankees with a .270 batting average, 31 home runs, 78 RBIs, and 79 runs scored in 119 games.
“A Yankees — and Gerrit Cole—killer, indeed,” wrote Hascup. “Against Cole, Devers is 14 for 44 in the regular season with a .350/.435/.975 line, eight home runs, and 20 RBIs. (He’s also 1 for 2 against Cole in the playoffs, with three walks and an RBI.)”
Does Dever’s Exit Help the Yankees’ Division Title Chances?
While it’s challenging to quantify in baseball the extent to which one player’s skillset can impact another team, there’s a potential trickle effect associated with the San Francisco Giants’ acquisition of Devers.
For one, Devers was a prominent reason why the New York Yankees went 1-5 in their first six games of 2025 against the Boston Red Sox. He hit three home runs with four RBIs in this season’s six games against Aaron Judge and the Yankees. Without Dever’s contributions, the Yankees may have won one or two more of those contests, possibly extending their lead in the division further.
Boston remains 6.5 games back of first-place in the AL East even after their three-game sweep of the Yankees this past weekend.
How Rafael Devers Trade Affects Yankees