The Red Sox Just Traded All-Star Rafael Devers—And Will Save Over $250 Million On His Contract

Massive in-season trades in baseball are fairly uncommon, but we got a big one this month: The Boston Red Sox traded three-time All-Star Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants.

Boston signed Devers to a 10-year, $313.5 million contract extension at the beginning of 2023, one of only a handful of players ever to receive a deal worth $300 million or more. He promptly won the Silver Slugger Award in 2024 and earned his third straight All-Star appearance.

But this offseason, the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman, who plays third base—the same position that Devers has been at his entire career.

Understandably, Devers was upset. The Red Sox signed Bregman without informing their incumbent third baseman of their plans to slot him in as the designated hitter. He’s still put up terrific numbers this year; he’s in the top ten in RBI and top 20 in OPS and home runs, but he was disgruntled by the situation.

As a result, the breakup between Red Sox and Devers was probably expected, though it’s rare for a team to trade a player so soon after signing a huge contract. Devers’ deal, which ends in 2033, still has $254 million remaining on it. We’ve seen teams pay players and coaches to go away, but in this case, the Red Sox are off the hook. The Giants are paying the entirety of Devers’ remaining deal.

Interestingly, the Giants also have an established star at third base. The team signed Matt Chapman to a six-year, $151 million extension. Devers has been the designated hitter since joining the Giants, though he’ll most likely end up splitting time between DH and first base. Between Chapman and Devers, the Giants are paying their corner infielders over $400 million.

The Red Sox have insisted this move isn’t the start of a rebuild that will end their season. The team is still competitive in the AL Wild Card race. After dealing Devers, it’s going to finish that race with extra money on hand. It might need it to win back the goodwill of fans who are bummed about losing a popular All-Star.