The Red Sox traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants on June 15 in a deal that has saddened many Boston fans. Most Red Sox rooters assumed Devers would finish his career with Boston and place his name among the great hitters in franchise history.
That won’t happen now. The Giants have agreed to pay the balance of the $250 million contract Devers is owed through 2033. I haven’t seen a lot of albatrosses, but that seems like quite an albatross to me.
According to reporting, Devers asked the Red Sox to trade him in spring training, following the news that the team wished he would put away his stone glove and become a full-time designated hitter.
Devers was chosen by the Red Sox to be sort of the “last man standing” from the 2018 World Series champions. The Red Sox jettisoned Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts since winning that title, the franchise’s fourth this century.
Many card-carrying members of Red Sox Nation assumed team owner John Henry would continue to spend and field a team with championship aspirations, so as to make this the Century of the Red Sox. Instead, Boston has meandered for about half a decade, since losing the League Championship Series in 2021.
Now, Devers is gone, and the Sox remain without the latest slugger in residence at Fenway Park, where great hitters have been wielding lumber since 1912. That includes The Behemoth of Blast, George Herman “Babe” Ruth, all the way through to Betts and Devers.
But the Devers love affair in Boston was one-sided. Devers was a terrible defender, a dreadful base runner, and in spite of the tears being shed in Massachusetts over his departure, Raffy never once finished in the top 10 in MVP voting. He has only two seasons with as much as four Wins Above Replacement.
Superstar numbers, Devers does not have.
Here’s a look at the usual players mentioned among the great sluggers in Boston history.
Greatest Red Sox Hitters: Wins Above Replacement Study
These stats are for games played with the Boston Red Sox.
| PLAYER | WAR | WAR7 | WAR5C | WAR3 |
| Tris Speaker | 55.8 | 55.9 | 42.6 | 28.7 |
| Joe Cronin | 27.6 | 25.7 | 31.0 | 14.9 |
| Jimmie Foxx | 32.0 | 32.0 | 27.4 | 18.6 |
| Ted Williams | 164.9 | 75.2 | 53.0 | 34.1 |
| Carl Yastrzemski | 96.6 | 51.8 | 43.4 | 31.4 |
| Reggie Smith | 34.5 | 34.5 | 26.3 | 17.4 |
| Carlton Fisk | 39.5 | 35.5 | 23.2 | 20.2 |
| Dwight Evans | 66.5 | 39.7 | 30.7 | 21.4 |
| Jim Rice | 48.9 | 33.9 | 24.8 | 18.6 |
| Wade Boggs | 71.9 | 56.4 | 42.2 | 25.8 |
| Nomar Garciaparra | 41.3 | 43.1 | 28.1 | 21.3 |
| Manny Ramirez | 33.2 | 32.1 | 25.1 | 16.6 |
| David Ortiz | 52.5 | 28.0 | 20.0 | 13.9 |
| Mookie Betts | 42.5 | 42.5 | 40.2 | 27.7 |
| Rafael Devers | 24.9 | 22.4 | 17.7 | 13.6 |
Devers ranks dead last in the peak and prime categories listed above. WAR7 is WAR in his best seven seasons. WAR5C is the WAR in the best five consecutive seasons, and WAR3 is WAR in the player’s best three seasons.
Devers only compares well in WAR3 and WAR5C to David Ortiz, another one-dimensional player, but a much better slugger with legendary clutch credentials.
The Red Sox were right to ask Raffy to drop his glove and become a full-time swinger. They were also well within their rights to ask Devers to fill-in at first base. Raffy’s defensive stats at third base are among the worst in the last two decades. Probably since 1970, Devers rates among the 5-10 worst third basemen to play that position. He isn’t just bad in the field, he’s historically bad.
At 28 years of age, Devers could produce at the plate for another seven years at an All-Star level. It’s possible. But it’s not likely. Most players slow down by 32-33, and Devers hasn’t kept himself in the best of shape.
Even if Devers does have his typical 32 homer, 850 OPS season for the next few years, his value will still be about 4 WAR, maybe a little more. That’s because he produces nothing with the glove or his base running.
The Red Sox are 1/2 game out of a playoff spot. The team has yet to play well. Boston recently called up not one, not two, but three of its top prospects. The pitching staff has shown it can keep the Sox in games, and the offense ranks second in runs scored, on-base, and slugging. Sure, Devers’ bat will be missed, but the rest of the lineup isn’t shoddy.
I suspect within a year, Red Sox fans will have forgotten about the feelings that have been hurt by the surprising trade of Rafael Devers. It could be sooner if Alex Cora‘s club ends up sliding into the postseason this October.
Devers never earned a place among the “Mt. Rushmore” of Red Sox history. One thing is for sure in professional baseball: there is always another player ready to step into a vacant spot.
