Rafael Devers-Red Sox Blockbuster Took Another Turn, Per Insider

The Boston Red Sox made one of the most surprising trades in recent memory on Sunday.

Boston has won five games in a row and has been in the right direction, but the Red Sox decided to flip its recent success on its head and trade superstar slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants

The move came as a shock. Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe opened up shortly after the move and gave the first real insight into why it went down.

"Per Red Sox sources: the team's feeling was that a $313.5M contract comes with responsibilities to do what is right for the team and that Devers did not live up to those responsibilities," Abraham said. "They had enough and they traded him."

MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo followed up and said he didn’t request a trade out of Boston.

"A source with knowledge of the Red Sox-Rafael Devers relationship described it tonight as 'an unsalvageable situation for both parties.' Devers was frustrated with mixed messaging from 'different voices' in the organization," Cotillo said. "Felt like a scapegoat. The root was what the player felt was disorganized communication from the jump this year.

"As we reported, it never got to the point where he *demanded* a trade. That doesn’t mean he didn’t welcome one. Conversations took place over months."

Now, this makes the deal look even more surprising. If Devers didn't ask out, why move him like this? Overnight, more came out about the deal. Rumors painted a picture of issues behind the scenes building up for months. Clearly, it became too much. But, the timing is still somewhat odd. Even with all of the issues behind the scenes, why now? The trade deadline is over one month away. Could Boston have gotten more?