Ex-Red Sox star calls team's Rafael Devers trade 'crazy'
A quick glance at the Boston Red Sox's roster from their 2018 World Series-winning team may make the average baseball fan quizzical when compared to the 2025 squad.
Rafael Devers was their third baseman, Mookie Betts played right field and Xander Bogaerts was the shortstop, not to mention players like Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr. and J.D. Martinez also bolstered the lineup as the team defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.
On Sunday, one of the last core pieces of the lineup was dealt.
The Red Sox traded Devers to the San Francisco Giants for Jordan Hicks, Jose Bello, James Tibbs III and Kyle Harrison – a deal that stunned the baseball world. Despite his philosophical differences with the Red Sox, Devers was hitting .272 with a .905 OPS and 15 home runs. He was leading the American League in walks with 56 and had played the most games in the majors (73).
Betts, who the Red Sox traded to the Dodgers, offered his thoughts following the team's win over the Giants on Sunday.
"I just thought it was crazy," he told The Athletic. "Nothing really to say, it's just crazy."
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw also reacted to the trade as he was told during an ESPN segment about the wild move.
"How about that trade? That's wild," he said. "Buster's really doing it! Not Olney; Buster Posey's really doing it over there. Good for Buster, man. He's going for it. I'd consider (Devers) one of probably the top 10 hitters in the game at worst. He's definitely a game-changer."
Nearly seven years later, the Red Sox are operating with a completely different roster than the one they had when they lifted the Commissioner's Trophy.
Boston will enter the week fresh off of a sweep of the New York Yankees and only 6.5 games behind them for first place in the AL East.
Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
21 minutes ago
- New York Times
Live Q&A with Phillies writer Matt Gelb on Tuesday at noon ET
June 17, 2025 at 12:00 PM EDT Phillies beat writer Matt Gelb will answer subscribers' questions about the team and organization in a live Q&A from noon to 12:45 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Questions can be submitted ahead of time or during the Q&A. Matt Gelb June 16, 2025 4:22 pm EDT
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton Breaks Eye-Opening Streak in NBA Finals Game 4
Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton Breaks Eye-Opening Streak in NBA Finals Game 4 originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The postseason run that Tyrese Haliburton has been on can't really be summed up in stats. He has averaged 18.6 points, 9.4 assists and 5.9 rebounds in the Pacers' 19 playoff games, and his shooting percentages (47.3% from the field and 34.3% from the 3-point line) have been solid enough, but Haliburton's string of magical shots and moments, first against the Bucks, then Cavaliers and Knicks and now, the Thunder, can't be reduced to numbers. Advertisement It's all been rather stressful for him. "You're playing in the NBA Finals. There should be a higher sense of urgency, a higher level of stress," he said. "Your spit should taste different. All those things, right? This is a lot of fun. This is a lot of fun. "After games, I'm struggling to sleep -- good games and bad games. I'm watching a ton of film. I'm doing, us as a group, we're texting more in the group chat about basketball-related things more than we probably ever have. This is a lot of fun. You don't want to take these moments for granted." Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) reacts to a play during the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in game three of the 2025 NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images If there is a number that has been worthy of special attention here in the Finals, as Game 4 of the series got underway with the Pacers seeking a 3-1 series lead, it is this one: 0. Advertisement That's how many free throws Haliburton was granted in the first three games of the series. Yes, despite 53 points scored and 43 shots attempted in the series, Haliburton came into Game 4 without a free-throw on the docket. And we're not saying made free throws. It's free-throw attempts. But with 28 seconds to go in the second quarter of a tight Game 4, it finally happened for Haliburton: He was fouled by Alex Caruso on a made two-footer. Haliburton stepped to the line and made what was, at long last, his first free-throw attempt in 13 days. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
22 minutes ago
- USA Today
Has there ever been College World Series perfect game? Gage Wood going for history
Has there ever been College World Series perfect game? Gage Wood going for history Show Caption Hide Caption 4 MLB prospects to watch during the 2025 Men's College World Series 4 MLB prospects The Montgomery Advertiser's Adam Cole and The Southwest Times Record's Jackson Fuller are watching during the 2025 Men's College World Series A college baseball team making it to the College World Series is a humongous achievement, one that can define the program in the years that follow and put it firmly on the national stage. Once there, rising above the seven other teams to win a national championship is an even more Herculean feat, an accomplishment that immortalizes players and coaches in a school and program's lore. Being perfect at the CWS, though? That's something unprecedented. In his team's elimination game against Murray State, Arkansas pitcher Gage Wood has been untouchable — literally — surrendering no hits or walks through the first seven innings as his team holds on to a 3-0 lead. While it's sacrilegious for such discussions to take place in a dugout during a game, Wood's early brilliance has prompted chatter about whether he could notch a perfect game. REQUIRED READING: Arkansas vs Murray State live updates: College World Series score, highlights From those conversations comes a natural question: Has anybody ever thrown a perfect game at the CWS? With Wood rolling, here's a look at the history of perfect games in the CWS: Has there ever been a perfect game in the College World Series? If Wood is able to finish the job, he'll make history. Since at least 1959, when there was the first recorded perfect game in college baseball, there has never been a perfect game at the College World Series. The first CWS was played in 1947 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, but the first perfect game wasn't recorded until Maryland's Dick Reitz managed the accomplishment in a win against Johns Hopkins in April 1959. Through the first seven innings, Wood has been overpowering and shown few, if any, signs of weakness. Of the first 21 batters he faced, he struck out 14 of them. Wood's perfect game bid is the longest in the CWS since at least 1999, when play-by-play data first becomes available. How many perfect games have there been in college baseball history? There have been 39 recorded perfect games in Division I college baseball history since the first one in 1959, according to the NCAA. The most recent one came in March, when UNC Wilmington freshman Cam Bagwell had a perfect game in a 12-0 victory against Campbell, needing only 80 pitches to do so in a run-rule, seven-inning win. It was actually the second perfect game of the 2025 season, with Portland's Ryan Rembisz giving up no hits or walks while striking out 12 in a win against Seattle. Perfect games have become more common in recent years. Of the 39 all-time perfect games in Division I history, 15 have come since 2011, including five since 2022.
