Manny Ramirez shockingly uses Aaron Judge reference to rip Red Sox's Rafael Devers trade

New York Post

5 hours ago

The Yankees and Red Sox have become renewed trade partners in recent years, and now, Boston legends are pointing to the Bronx Bombers as a way of doing business.
In the latest chapter of 'the rivalry isn't what it was 20-plus years ago,' Red Sox great Manny Ramirez used Yankees captain Aaron Judge as a reference point to drive home why he felt the Red Sox mishandled the growing tension with Rafael Devers before sending him to San Francisco in a blockbuster move Sunday.
'Devers was humiliated (by the Red Sox). It's not about pride or ego. I think the team didn't respect him or communicate with him properly,' Ramirez told MLB reporter Hector Gomez.
'I'm sure they didn't do that to (Roger) Clemens. I can't imagine the Yankees telling Judge, 'Now we're moving you to catcher.''
Ramirez perhaps better understands most of the factors surrounding the Devers trade since he had some friction with the team from 2001-08.
While Ramirez didn't always please the front office with his antics, the Red Sox kept him in the lineup before dealing him during his age-36 season in 2008.
4 Manny Ramirez (b) speaks with Hector Gomez (t) on the situation.
@hgomez27/X
The sides' ability to co-function helped bring titles to Boston in 2004 and 2007.
Ramirez believes it would have helped Devers to have mentors on the team guiding him.
'Devers needed to have people advising him there on the team. I'm telling you this because I really wasn't well, and David [Ortiz] and Pedro [Martinez] were fighting with me to advise me,' Ramirez told Gomez. 'But I was so bad, that I never let them advise me. And David Ortiz, look how he's come out on top in Boston. He let himself be advised. Most Latinos don't come out on good terms with their teams.'
4 Aaron Judge is the Yankees' captain.
AP
4 Rafael Devers is now in San Francisco.
Getty Images
The drama between the Red Sox and Devers hit a turning point when the team signed Alex Bregman to play his position and then wanted him to move to first base, which he refused.
Devers settled into his designated hitter role before the team again wanted him to go to first base due to Triston Casas' season-ending injury.
President of baseball operations Craig Breslow ultimately decided to send Devers to the Giants for a package featuring two major league players and two prospects.
4 Manny Ramirez during his Red Sox tenure.
AP
'We all worked at it over the last several months, going back to the offseason,' Red Sox president Sam Kennedy said Monday before a 2-0 win over the Mariners. 'Starting with Alex Cora and [Breslow] and the staff, and then up to me and all the way up to [owner] John Henry. We worked at it. We had a different vision for him going forward than he had and we couldn't get there. We couldn't find alignment and we reached that inflection point and made the decision to make a big move.'
Ramirez believes the blame falls on the team, not the player.
'The Red Sox handled this Devers situation pretty badly. They should have talked to him since the beginning about him moving to a different position and not just drop that on him during spring training,' Ramirez told Gomez, as translated by Sporting News.
'It was wrong by the organization and shows the lack of the experience from the GM and the lack of a clear guide within the team. They should have never treated Devers that way.'