Red Sox's Surprise Post-Rafael Devers Intentions For Trade Deadline Revealed

The Rafael Devers trade came so far out of left field that it's almost impossible to predict what the Boston Red Sox will do next.

Trading a franchise player is extremely rare, but the Red Sox have done it twice in just over five years. And the fact that it happened in a season with high expectations, in the middle of the best stretch of baseball the team has played during that season, was just stunning.

Devers plays for the San Francisco Giants now, and the Red Sox are heading into a crucial West Coast road trip, which includes a matchup with those same Giants, without their best bat.

Now, with six weeks still to go before the trade deadline, the natural question is what comes next for this Boston team. And one insider's report indicates that the Red Sox already have a plan in place.

On Monday, MassLive's Chris Cotillo reported that the Red Sox fully intend to buy at the deadline and continue competing for a playoff spot, according to someone "high-ranking" within the organization.

"The Devers deal opens the door for a major trade deadline addition of a controllable, high-dollar player and a high-ranking source indicated Sunday that the Red Sox, at 37-36 after a big weekend sweep of the Yankees, still wholeheartedly intend to buy at the trade deadline and shop aggressively," Cotillo wrote.

"That, obviously, could change with a bad few weeks in the wake of the Devers move. For now, though, the club’s eyes are on additions."

It's hard to imagine a more conflicting statement than "we want to win, but we just traded our best player," and that's presumably what chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and CEO Sam Kennedy are getting ready to tell fans in their Zoom press conference on Monday evening.

That the Red Sox still intend to buy serves as even further indication that the trade was about a clash of personalities. Devers didn't want to play a new position, the Red Sox thought he was failing to uphold his end of the contract he signed, and they saw an opportunity to unload the entire deal.

But oh brother, what a slap in the face to the fan base, which endured the Mookie Betts trade and several years of mediocrity, thought the team was finally close to emerging from the darkness, and got their feelings stomped on yet again.