{"id":665666,"date":"2026-04-06T02:18:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T02:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/665666\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T02:18:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T02:18:22","slug":"the-rafael-devers-trade-is-already-haunting-the-red-sox-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/665666\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rafael Devers trade is already haunting the Red Sox in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBoston Red Sox\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tThe Red Sox already moved on from three pieces acquired as part of last June’s trade with the Giants.<\/p>\n

\"Red
\n\tThe Red Sox’ return in the Rafael Devers trade has left a lot to be desired. Barry Chin\/The Boston Globe\t<\/p>\n

COMMENTARY<\/p>\n

By the time the Red Sox made the call to trade Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants <\/a>last June, it looked as though the bridge between the team and the disgruntled slugger had been reduced to ash.<\/p>\n

But even if the Red Sox felt as though a long-term relationship with Devers was all but fractured, shipping out an impact bat like him was only going to be a palatable option if they received key assets in return from the Giants.\u200b<\/p>\n

So far, that hasn\u2019t been the case for a Red Sox team that is not only missing Devers\u2019 bat in the heart of its order, but has largely squandered the return from San Francisco in the process.<\/p>\n

Boston has already felt the pain of a punchless lineup through the first nine games of the 2026 season, with a batting order trudging ahead without both Devers and Alex Bregman not exactly offering plenty of protection for a pressing Roman Anthony out of the leadoff spot.<\/p>\n

Granted, the message broadcast from Craig Breslow and Boston\u2019s top brass going into a new baseball season was that the concessions made by taking Devers\u2019 bat out of the lineup would be offset by the fiscal flexibility available to bolster other areas of the roster. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know that you look to replace one for one \u2014 you know, the production of a guy like Raffy, a guy like Alex, but our goal is to, you know, as a team, to win more games,\u201c Breslow said in February. \u201cI think there\u2019s a lot of different ways that we can do that, and leaning into pitching and defense is certainly one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Red Sox certainly leaned into pitching and defense this offseason. But, Boston has yet to see that pivot pay off.<\/p>\n

Following Sunday\u2019s 8-6 loss to the Padres, Boston is 2-7 on the season, losing each of its first three series against Cincinnati, Houston, and San Diego.<\/p>\n

Boston used some of the money freed up by San Francisco taking on the remaining $254 million left on Devers\u2019 deal to sign southpaw Ranger Suarez to a five-year, $130 million contract.<\/p>\n

Boston has dropped both of Suarez\u2019s starts so far this season, with the lefty 0-1 with an 8.64 ERA. In his four innings of work on Sunday against the Padres, Suarez relinquished six hits, four runs, and two walks across 75 pitches.<\/p>\n

The Red Sox\u2019 defense hasn\u2019t been much better, with Boston knocked for another two errors on Sunday. After committing an MLB-worst 116 errors last season, the Red Sox have been knocked for nine errors in their first nine games.<\/p>\n

For now, things look bleak at Fenway Park for a team seemingly poised to take a step forward after last year\u2019s brief playoff appearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is unacceptable. It\u2019s unacceptable for the fans,\u201d Anthony said postgame. \u201cIt\u2019s unacceptable to the standard that we set for ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roman Anthony makes it clear the way the Red Sox are playing is unacceptable.<\/p>\n

“We need to find a way to just bring more energy and just be better. This is unacceptable. It’s unacceptable to the fans. It’s unacceptable to the standard we set for ourselves.” pic.twitter.com\/tazh4zcdJd<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) April 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Boston\u2019s disheartening start to a new season would at least be assuaged to some degree if the other pieces that the Red Sox snagged from the Giants were posting promising returns.<\/p>\n

Some of them are \u2014 but for other teams.<\/p>\n

Along with getting the Giants to take on Devers\u2019 contract, Boston also received righty pitcher Jordan Hicks, southpaw Kyle Harrison, and a pair of prospects in first baseman James Tibbs and righty Jose Bello from San Francisco.<\/p>\n

Less than a year later, only Bello, 20, remains in Boston\u2019s organization.<\/p>\n

Hicks was a downright disaster last season with the Red Sox. The hard-throwing righty was tagged with an 8.20 ERA across 21 appearances and just 18.2 innings before getting shut down for the year.<\/p>\n

Boston traded Hicks to the White Sox in February, with the Red Sox needing to attach righty David Sandlin \u2014 the club\u2019s No. 8 prospect at the time by MLB Pipeline \u2014 in order to get a majority of Hicks\u2019 remaining $24 million contract off the books.<\/p>\n

Harrison, a 24-year-old lefty who had uneven stints with San Francisco, spent the majority of the 2025 season with Triple-A Worcester after Boston plucked him from the West Coast. He ultimately appeared in three games (two starts) with Boston last season, sporting a 3.00 ERA and striking out 13 over 12 innings of work.<\/p>\n

Given the supposed glut of pitching on Boston\u2019s roster, the Red Sox decided to trade Harrison as part of a package deal to the Brewers in February, with Caleb Durbin and Andruw Monasterio the headliners going back to Boston.<\/p>\n

While Durbin has labored so far with Boston (.071 average, 1 RBI), Harrison has seemingly meshed already with Milwaukee\u2019s stout pitching pipeline \u2014 sporting a 2.61 ERA and striking out 14 over 10.1 innings in his first two outings with the Brewers in 2026.<\/p>\n

Tibbs \u2014 San Francisco\u2019s No. 4 prospect at the time of the Devers trade \u2014 didn\u2019t even last two months in Boston.<\/p>\n

After just 30 games played with Double-A Portland, the Red Sox traded Tibbs to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a package for starting pitcher Dustin May on July 31.<\/p>\n

May didn\u2019t move the needle down the stretch for Boston. In six appearances (five starts) with the Red Sox, May sported a 5.40 ERA, giving up 35 hits and 13 walks in just 28.1 innings of work. He signed a contract with the Cardinals in free agency this past winter.<\/p>\n

\u200bTibbs, meanwhile, is looking like a future star in the Dodgers\u2019 farm system.<\/p>\n

Now playing for the Dodgers\u2019 Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City, the 23-year-old Tibbs is batting .514 with seven home runs, four doubles, one triple, and 13 RBI in just eight games.<\/p>\n

James Tibbs III, acquired by the Dodgers along with Zach Ehrhard for Dustin May last deadline, has a 3-HR game today for OKC.<\/p>\n

His updated stats at Triple-A:<\/p>\n

.529 AVG
7 HR
13 RBIs
1.903 OPS<\/p>\n

He is playing out of his mind right now. Just unreal.pic.twitter.com\/tzMTDdE9lm<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Noah Camras (@noahcamras) April 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The Red Sox already have a first baseman in Willson Contreras and a logjam of outfielders on the MLB roster.<\/p>\n

But, it would be a great problem to have for a lagging Red Sox offense to have a prospect like Tibbs teeing off in Triple-A \u2014 rather than giving the defending World Series champs another blue-chip prospect.<\/p>\n

And, with May being an abject failure in Boston after just five starts, dealing away Tibbs for a rental stands as some brutal asset management from the Red Sox.<\/p>\n

The 2026 Red Sox still have plenty of time to pull themselves out of this early-season tailspin. And Devers, admittedly, hasn\u2019t teed off against pitching so far in 2026 with the Giants (.211 batting average, one home run, two RBI). <\/p>\n

But, much like the ill-fated Mookie Betts trade that has loomed over Boston for years now, the Red Sox\u2019 decision to trade Devers has looked like another whiff for a franchise that has been torched by several franchise-altering departures in recent years.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Profile\t<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.<\/p>\n

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