Alex Bregman's Red Sox Future In Question After Rafael Devers News

There is going to be significant fallout to the Boston Red Sox's shocking trade sending Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants.

The move came out of left field but reports have surfaced since showing a grim picture of what things looked like behind the scenes. There clearly were issues in the wake of the Red Sox asking Devers to switch to designated hitter in the wake of signing Alex Bregman and then things got worse after Triston Casas went down and Devers wouldn't attempt to make another switch to first base.

Both sides clearly were weary of one another. But, even with all of that being said, the Red Sox now don't have one of the top sluggers in the lineup any longer. Even with all of the drama, this is still a guy with 15 homers, 58 RBIs, 18 doubles, and 56 walks this season. That's a lot of production to replace and Boston certainly seems to be further away from contention today than it was even a day ago.

So, why should other players want to stick around now? Boston has shown a willingness to ship out homegrown stars left and right. Why would free agents want to commit now?

One guy who is going to be worth watching closely for the rest of the season is Bregman himself. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal weighed in and said Boston "can bank on" Bregman opting out after the season.

"By trading Devers, the Red Sox subtracted a hitter who was batting .272 with 15 home runs and a .905 OPS – this, after starting the season 0-for-19 with 15 strikeouts," Rosenthal said. "They also removed some of the veteran cover for their top position prospects, Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony.

"Oh, but Bregman will be back soon, you say? Yep, and the Sox can bank on him opting out at the end of the season. No problem, just give Bregman the money the Sox saved with Devers, right? That sound you hear is the cackling of Bregman’s agent, Scott Boras, who according to unconfirmed reports was last seen rolling on the floor in hysterics."

Bregman opting out after the season wouldn't be a shock. He landed a nice deal with Boston, but he has played well enough to earn long-term security on a deal. Without Devers, would he consider actually coming back or is he going to be one-and-done now and look for a contender elsewhere?

There are so many variables at play here and it just seems off. Hopefully that is proved wrong, but we'll see.