Red Sox trade Rafael Devers to Giants in blockbuster deal

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

Devers’ agent, Nelson Montes de Oca, confirmed the deal to The Associated Press. E-S-P-N reported that the Giants are sending Boston a package of players that includes pitchers Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison for the 28-year-old designated hitter, who had bristled at his demotion from third base this year.

The Giants were one game behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers heading into Sunday night’s matchup between the National League West rivals. San Francisco shortstop Willy Adames said on the ESPN broadcast that the team found out about 15 to 20 minutes before the game.

“Everybody’s so excited,” he said in an on-field interview while playing the field 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, US$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 team 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 quadriceps 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 before he was interrupted by Tommy Edman’s home run that gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.

“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 come over here and win the division.”

The Red Sox have won five out of six against the rival Yankees over the last two weekends to improve to 37-36, but they are still fourth in the AL East, 6 1/2 games behind division-leading New York.

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.

Devers is not the first Red Sox All-Star to be traded away: The team sent Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles 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 shakeup when Boston traded disgruntled shortstop — and fan favourite — Nomar Garciaparra to Minnesota.

The Red Sox went on to win the World Series that year, ending their 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.”

— AP Baseball Writer Janie McCauley contributed to this report.

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Jimmy Golen, The Associated Press