On this day last year, the Boston Red Sox made a trade that shocked the baseball world.
Boston would make an early-season trade that would send slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for what was considered to be a haul at the time.
The Giants would send minor leaguers Jose Bello and James Tibbs III, as well as major league pitchers Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks.
This year, the Red Sox and Giants are both sub-.500 teams, still reeling from the deal in their own ways.
Jen McCaffrey and Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic examined the trade one year later.
How Has Losing Devers Affected the Boston Red Sox?
McCaffrey and Baggarly explain that Boston’s offense has not been the same since Devers’ departure.
“Boston’s offense has struggled mightily all season — before and after firing Alex Cora and six coaches, including most of the hitting staff, on April 25,” McCaffrey and Baggarly wrote.
“Before the firings, the Red Sox averaged 4.1 runs per game while posting a .233 average and .667 OPS in 27 games. In 42 games since, the Sox are averaging 3.95 runs while batting .255 with a .720 OPS.”
Is that all because of Devers? It likely isn’t.
While Devers was a three-time All-Star with Boston, hitting 215 home runs with an .859 OPS, he hasn’t adjusted to San Francisco.
In 162 games with the Giants, Devers has hit 29 home runs, but with a .762 OPS. However, this year he has a .706 OPS in 72 games.
While Devers has struggled in San Francisco, the Red Sox still could have used Devers’ power.
Entering Monday, Boston is 29th in home runs with 58, just one ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays. Devers was also proficient at driving in runs, something the Red Sox have also had trouble doing. Boston is 29th in runs scored with just 278 in 69 games.
What Did They Get Back?
Of all the players the Red Sox got from San Francisco, Bello is the only one still on the team. However, Bello is not even a top 30 prospect in Boston’s system.
Tibbs was a first-round pick by the Giants in 2024. However, he has changed teams twice. He is currently in the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ system, where he is mashing. In 66 Triple-A games, Tibbs has a 1.036 OPS.
As for Hicks, Boston traded him to the Chicago White Sox in a salary dump, where he has struggled to a 5.60 ERA.
Harrison was the biggest part of this trade, but he was subsequently traded to the Milwaukee Brewers with Shane Drohan and David Hamilton for Caleb Durbin and Andruw Monasterio.
Durbin and Monasterio have been massive disappointments for Boston. Both players have been below-average hitters with solid fielding. Meanwhile, in 13 starts, Harrison has pitched to a 2.47 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 65.2 innings.
Anyway you look at it, this trade resulted in major changes to the Red Sox roster, and not positively. While it hasn’t exactly worked out for San Francisco yet, this looks to be a lose-lose trade.
Red Sox executive Craig Breslow is now facing the consequences of the fallout of this trade, as Boston sits at the bottom of the AL East.
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