The Boston Red Sox managed to shock the entire MLB world with their decision to trade Rafael Devers, their best hitter, to the San Francisco Giants just a short while after Devers hit a home run to help power Boston to a 2-0 victory over their sworn rival, the New York Yankees. Devers may have taken a while to get going in 2025, but at the time of the trade, he's been slashing .272/.401/.504 on the season, with his contributions being worth around 2 WAR.

Devers is a homegrown star whom Red Sox fans have grown to love over the years, and he was a valuable member of the 2019 team that won the World Series. They then signed him to a 10-year, $313.5 million contract in free agency to secure his services for the long haul. Instead, they decided to bail on him and get out from underneath his contract.

This decision made by the Red Sox was described by ESPN's Jeff Passan as “confounding”, as, despite understanding how scary that contract will be in a few years, this puts such a huge damper on their current momentum. Boston is currently in the middle of a five-game winning streak that has them above .500 at present (37-36), and over the past 10 games, they've gone 8-2.

Red Sox hit a reset button of sorts

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Nearly everyone following MLB was caught off guard by the Red Sox's decision to move on from Devers, and so soon after a huge victory over the Yankees as well. Devers is only 28 years of age, so there would at least have been a few more productive years from the heavy-hitting designated hitter. Instead, he's off to San Francisco, and the Red Sox have to find a way to fill the void he'll leave in the lineup.

Even with Devers' batting average sitting below the Mendoza line over the past 10 games, he's still been one of the Red Sox's most productive hitters. His OPS during that span is .821, which means that he's still getting on base and hitting for power at a reliable clip.

It's not as if the Red Sox got anyone in the trade with the Giants that will fill Devers' shoes immediately, so they will take a huge hit in offensive production for the meantime. Perhaps all that positional drama after the Red Sox's decision to move him out of third base in favor of Alex Bregman played a part as well in this bombshell trade.