The simmering frustration between Rafael Devers and the Boston Red Sox prior to Devers's stunning trade was one of the worst-kept secrets in the league. Still, no one thought Boston would actually deal the franchise's homegrown star to the San Francisco Giants in an unexpected June blockbuster, with the slugger set to join former Red Sox players Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts as Fenway Park outcasts in the NL West.
In the hours following the trade, ESPN's Buster Olney provided a few interesting details about why the Red Sox decided to move on from Devers.
Olney said he received messages from teams around the league that had been talking with the Red Sox (he didn't name names), and they knew Devers would be "gone" this past May. What could have so badly soured the franchise's opinion on the three-time All-Star? A telling visit from owner John Henry.
Olney reported on Sunday Night Baseball:
"[Devers] had reached an impasse with the Red Sox. Getting text messages from executives, other teams been talking with the Red Sox. They basically are saying that after Devers did not respond following John Henry getting on a plane and going out to Kansas City, and he didn't take ground balls after that, the perception of other teams was, ‘Yeah, he was gone.’ Red Sox were going to move him when he didn't respond to the owner who was paying him that contract."
The visit in question occurred in early May, when Henry took a plane to Kansas City for a road game to discuss Devers's recent positional gripes. Devers has only ever played third base and reportedly took issue with the Red Sox asking him to switch positions (designated hitter and first base) twice in the span of a few months.
Henry met with Devers to presumably smooth out the wrinkles, but the meeting didn't seem to go as well as he had hoped, and reportedly served as the breaking point from the Red Sox's perspective.
As for Devers's perspective, Red Sox beat writer Chris Cotillo shared some insight about what peeved Devers the most about his situation in Boston.
"Devers was frustrated with mixed messaging from 'different voices' in the organization. Felt like a scapegoat. The root was what the player felt was disorganized communication from the jump this year," Cotillo wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
With both sides at a clear impasse this season, the Red Sox's $300-million man got moved. The rest will be history in the making.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as MLB Insider Details the Exact Moment That Led to Red Sox, Rafael Devers Split.
