Insider Has Surprising Take On Red Sox-Rafael Devers Breakup

The Boston Red Sox’s starting lineup looks different than it did a little over a week ago.

Boston obviously traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants. The move came as a shock and initially most of the buzz was negative. But, as reports have surfaced painting a picture about the dysfunction behind the scenes, the move has made more and more sense.

It was publicly clear that Devers refused to play first base this season for Boston when Triston Casas went down. That in itself is surprising, especially coming from the highest-paid player in team history. There was enough going on that the front office felt it needed to move him, despite the fact that there is over eight years left on his deal.

It has been a weird week, but the perception around the deal has quickly shifted. One example of this was the New York Post’s Jon Heyman giving the deal an “A+” on Monday on "MLB Now."

"For this trade, I think they did as well as they possibly could've done,” Heyman said. “We’re talking about a designated hitter who was a malcontent. Now, is it his fault he was a malcontent. I don't know, maybe not. I'm not going to get into that right now. Right now, he’s an unhappy guy, not doing his best, he is only a DH for them, we know that, and $30 million a year...I think they did great. If you’re just talking about the trade, and that’s all, I’d give them an A+."