The Boston Red Sox shocked the entire Major League Baseball world late on Sunday when they traded three-time All-Star Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants.
They offloaded his contract and also put an end to the drama surrounding him about playing different positions, but didn’t get much in return. It’s fair to wonder how this will affect the Red Sox going forward.
The Red Sox have won six consecutive games, even now with Devers gone, so it will be very interesting to see where they are headed.
With the deal now done, Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report predicts that Boston will be selling this summer at the deadline.
“The guess here is the Red Sox are in for some short-term pain, which could facilitate the availability of Walker Buehler, Aroldis Chapman and maybe even controllable types like Wilyer Abreu,” Rymer wrote.
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The Red Sox are two games above .500 and in playoff position. Perhaps if the deal works out, they could still reach the postseason.
However, the chances of them being a strong contender without Devers are slim, as he was by far their best hitter. Without him, the lineup is a bit depleted.
There are plenty of expiring contracts under the Red Sox control leading up to the deadline. As Rymer mentioned, players like Buehler and Chapman could be had by other contending teams.
The American League East remains one of the league’s toughest divisions, so it will be hard for Boston to stay in contention with all of the competition surrounding them.
We’ll see what they decide to do at the deadline on July 31.
More MLB: Red Sox could dump 7-time All-Star to Phillies following Rafael Devers trade
