The Boston Red Sox traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants, ending a year full of rumors. After Boston signed Alex Bregman, the relationship cracked. Neither side could repair the crack, ultimately ending his run in Beantown. ESPN's Jeff Passan dove into what the Red Sox-Devers relationship was truly like in the final days.

“What started in spring training as a repairable mismanagement of Devers' future — and his ego — by the Red Sox degraded into something far too familiar for the organization,” Passan wrote. “Devers, according to a person familiar with his thinking, felt ‘lied to and betrayed' by the Red Sox. [Manager Alex] Cora, long one of Devers' chief supporters and advocates, supported his expulsion. Craig Breslow, the Red Sox's chief baseball officer whom Devers publicly badmouthed amid the hostility, played hatchet man. Red Sox ownership, which at first wanted to mend the relationship between the parties knowing that two years earlier it had guaranteed him $313.5 million to play a central role in a forthcoming resurgence, lost faith and greenlit the deal.”

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Devers' contract was signed in response to Boston losing Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts in previous years. They wanted to keep their third baseman as the face of the franchise. But his poor defense made Alex Bregman an attractive option, with the DH role open for Devers. But the communication from the Red Sox to Devers was poor, resulting in bruised egos and a stunning trade.

Just because they dealt Devers does not mean that Boston will sit out the MLB trade deadline. They could go out and pick up a rental to leave money open for free agency. But the Red Sox will have Devers hanging over their heads for a long time. Just like Betts and Bogaerts before him, Devers got away from Boston, and they'll have to try and replace him, which could be nearly impossible.