Red Sox execs defend Devers deal, cite ‘alignment’
Top Boston Red Sox officials said the team traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday because they could not find “alignment” with their star slugger, whose relationship with the organization degraded after he declined a request by the team to switch positions for the second time this season.
In a 40-minute media availability Monday night, Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow defended the decision to trade the 28-year-old Devers, a three-time All-Star in the second season of a 10-year, $313.5 million contract. The deal, which came after a sweep of the rival New York Yankees extended Boston’s winning streak to five games, roiled Red Sox fans still embittered by Boston trading future Hall of Famer Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.
Though Kennedy and Breslow acknowledged the disappointment in the trade that netted Boston left-handed starter Kyle Harrison, outfield prospect James Tibbs III, right-handed reliever Jordan Hicks and right-hander Jose Bello, they noted the financial flexibility the deal gives the organization, with San Francisco taking on the remaining $254 million of Devers’ contract.
Pointing to the ability to add talent as the July 31 trade deadline approaches, Breslow said: “This is in no way signifying a waving of the white flag on 2025. We are as committed as we were six months ago to putting a winning team on the field, to competing for the division and making a deep postseason run.”
He also added, “I do think that there is a real chance that at the end of the season we’re looking back and we’ve won more games than we otherwise would’ve.”
At 38-36 following a win Monday night against Seattle, the Red Sox are in fourth place in the AL East but hold the final AL wild-card playoff spot. Their new-look lineup featured first baseman Abraham Toro hitting in Devers’ typical No. 2 spot and rookie outfielder Roman Anthony, who hit his first big league home run Monday, batting third.
Devers, who had been with the Red Sox organization since signing out of the Dominican Republic at 16, went from a fundamental part of Boston’s future to the latest ex-Red Sox player in a matter of months. The organization had spent the winter ensuring Devers would remain at third base, the position he had played his whole career. When Boston signed third baseman Alex Bregman on the eve of spring training, Devers was asked to move to designated hitter. He refused before eventually relenting.
A season-ending injury to first baseman Triston Casas in early May compelled Breslow to inquire about Devers’ willingness to move to first. He spurned the idea and criticized the organization, prompting owner John Henry, Kennedy and Breslow to fly to Kansas City, where the Red Sox were playing, and talk through their issues.
Despite the strong play of Toro and Romy Gonzalez at first, the issues persisted. Though neither Kennedy nor Breslow would expound specifically on where there was misalignment between the parties, Devers rejecting a second position switch soured an organization that gave him the largest deal in franchise history.
“We had certain expectations that went with that contract,” Kennedy said. “And when we came to the conclusion that we did not have a full alignment, we moved on.”
Breslow said the Red Sox talked about Devers with multiple teams — and two rival general managers told ESPN on Monday that Devers’ name came up in conversation about potential deals. Ultimately, Boston pulled off the polarizing trade with San Francisco, which agreed to inherit the entirety of Devers’ contract and in exchange sent back a package of talent that paled in production compared to Devers.
Over nine seasons with the Red Sox, Devers hit .279/.349/.510 with 215 home runs and 696 RBIs in 1,053 games. He represented the last player from Boston’s most recent World Series-winning team in 2018 — a group to which Kennedy and Breslow alluded when emphasizing the organization’s goals in moving a player who was hitting .272/.401/.504 this season.
“I do think that there is a real chance that at the end of the season, we’re looking back and we’ve won more games than we otherwise would’ve.”
Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow
“As we think about the identity and the culture and the environment that is created by great teams,” Breslow said, “there was something amiss here, and it was something that we needed to act decisively to course correct.”
Said Kennedy: “We did what we felt was in the best interest of the Red Sox on and off the field to win championships and to continue to ferociously and relentlessly pursue a culture that we want everyone in that clubhouse to embody and doing everything in their power night in and night out to help the team.”
The two continued returning to the word “alignment” — Kennedy used it nine times, Breslow five — to rationalize the deal. They pointed to allowing the team’s young core — which includes Anthony and infielders Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer, all of whom were among the top 15 prospects in MLB entering the season — to receive regular playing time as a benefit, with more at-bats available in the DH slot.
“I understand why the initial reaction would be that it’d be tough to sit here and say when you move a player of Raffy’s caliber, when you take that bat out of the lineup, how could I sit here and say that we’re a better team?” Breslow said. “And I acknowledge on paper we’re not going to have the same lineup that we did, but this isn’t about the game that is played on paper. This is about the game that’s played on the field and ultimately about winning the most games that we can. And in order to do that, we’re trying to put together the most functional and complete team that we can.”
The Red Sox have squandered the benefit of the doubt with a fan base that saw the team win four championships from 2004 to 2018. Dealing Betts for a paltry return remains a sticking point with a wide swath of fans, and one of Breslow’s first deals after taking over following the firing of his predecessor, Chaim Bloom, was trading left-hander Chris Sale to Atlanta, where he won the National League Cy Young Award last year.
“I’ll put our record up against anybody else’s in Major League Baseball over the last 24 years,” Kennedy said. “We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve built here. We’ve got more trophies and banners to show for it than any other organization in Major League Baseball.”
Saying that Devers “means so much to that group, means so much to the organization, to the city of Boston,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora nevertheless stood behind the deal, saying he believes Harrison (who was optioned to Triple-A) and Hicks (on the injured list) will help the team this season.
“We’ve got to keep going. That’s the bottom line,” Cora said. “We put ourselves in a good spot. We have played good baseball for an extended period of time. Now we have to do it without Raffy, but at the same time, we added some pieces that we do believe are going to help us.”
Breslow and Kennedy each expressed disappointment over the handling of the Devers situation, with Breslow saying, “I need to own things I could have done better,” particularly in communicating. They agreed, though, that the decisiveness with which they agreed to deal Devers — regardless of the public outcry — was done in service of something larger.
Bobby Petrino has fired three defensive assistants just one day after being named interim head coach at Arkansas as part of an overhaul of the Razorbacks’ coaching staff.
Petrino dismissed defensive coordinator Travis Williams, defensive line coach Deke Adams and defensive assistant Marcus Woodson in the latest moves after being appointed interim coach for the rest of the season to replace Sam Pittman, who was fired Sunday following five-plus seasons as Arkansas’ head coach.
“I just felt like how we performed on Saturday gave me an indication that maybe Sam had lost the team a little bit because they generally had played really hard for him throughout his tenure,” Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek said of the move, which came on the heels of a 56-13 home loss to Notre Dame.
Petrino, 64, returned to Arkansas in 2023 as offensive coordinator after serving in a number of jobs. In four years as the Razorbacks’ head coach, he went 34-17, including consecutive seasons with double-digit victories in 2010 and 2011.
“Coach Petrino, as we met yesterday, he accepted this opportunity with the understanding that he also wanted an opportunity to formally be a candidate for our head coaching position, and he will have that opportunity, but we’ll also subsequently run a search for our next head coach at the same time,” Yurachek said.
Pittman’s dismissal, Petrino’s temporary promotion and the defensive assistant dismissals weren’t the only changes. Chris Wilson was named the team’s interim defensive coordinator.
Petrino had high praise for Wilson, who was in his first year with the Razorbacks as an assistant defensive line coach.
“My experience [with Wilson] goes way back to having to battle against him when he had all the great defensive linemen at Mississippi State,” Petrino said. “Very, very impressed with what he’s done throughout his career. Guy’s got a Super Bowl ring. He brings a lot of credibility into the room.”
Several defensive players posted cryptic messages on social media following the firing of Williams, who had served as the team’s defensive coordinator since 2023. Yurachek and Petrino encouraged players to welcome change amid a 2-3 start to the season.
“The No. 1 thing is, you have to get used to change. You know, your whole life there’s going to be change. So how we handle that, our attitude on how we handle that, will determine how quickly we improve,” Petrino said.
Petrino was involved in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash in April 2012 that left him with four broken ribs. At first, he said he was riding alone, but a police report revealed a woman was riding with him. The woman turned out to be a former Arkansas athlete who was in a romantic relationship with the married Petrino. The coach had given her a job in the football program and a $20,000 gift.
Petrino was fired by then-athletic director Jeff Long for misleading his bosses about what happened with the accident and his relationship with the football staffer.
Pittman, 63, went 32-34 with the Razorbacks.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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