Red Sox Spoke To 5 Other Teams Before Trading Rafael Devers To Giants: Report

The Boston Red Sox's stunning trade of superstar Rafael Devers will be one of those moves throughout baseball history that will always leave us asking questions.

Why the trade happened is slowly crystallizing, but questions like why the Red Sox chose to do it in June, or why both sides handled the situation in the abysmal manner they did, will always haunt Boston fans who miss Devers batting second in their favorite team's lineup.

One thing we have learned, though, is that the Red Sox were fairly thorough in their search for a trade partner. They talked to the Giants for several weeks, per the Giants themselves. And we now know Devers' San Francisco Giants were one of at least six teams they talked to.

On Sunday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today confirmed that the Red Sox had spoken to the Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, and Atlanta Braves during the period in which they were exploring trading Devers away.

"The Red Sox say that they had conversations with the Mariners, Cubs, Padres, Blue Jays and Atlanta about Devers before dealing him to San Francisco," Nightengale wrote.

Nightengale also added confirmation from the Giants' owner on another piece of information that seemed crucial to the deal.

"If the Giants had not agreed to assume the $254.5 million remaining in Devers’ contract, Giants owner Greg Johnson says there would have been no trade."

And most painfully of all, Nightengale asserted his belief that the Red Sox asking Devers to move to first base was the final breaking point in the relationship, meaning that the whole situation could have been avoided had the starter not torn his patellar tendon.

"If Red Sox first baseman (Triston) Casas never got hurt, Rafael Devers would still be in Boston, and everyone would have been spared the drama."

The Red Sox play their last game of the year against Devers and the Giants on Sunday. When that's over, one has to hope both sides can finally get some closure to this exhausting saga.