Struggling NL Club Called Top Option For Red Sox's Rafael Devers

The Boston Red Sox are a team that hasn't been able to get out of its own way this season.

There was more excitement by the fanbase heading into this campaign than at any point over the last few years. That's thanks in large part to the fact that the club had a great offseason. Bringing in guys like Garrett Crochet, Alex Bregman, Aroldis Chapman, and Walker Buehler in one offseason is no small feat. The front office backed up chatter about being aggressive in the offseason and then things turned around.

Drama and inconsistent play have been the story of the season so far. Right now, the Red Sox are 22-22 after another back-breaking loss against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday in extra innings. Things just continue to spiral.

The drama aspect is hard to ignore. It began in Spring Training after the team wanted to move Rafael Devers from third base to designated hitter. He ended up doing it, but after plenty of chatter throughout camp. Now, the same thing is unfolding but this time during the regular season.

Devers has continued to shine at the plate, but the drama has overshadowed the team and has led to some wild trade speculation. It would be an absolute shock if Devers was moved. But, with the drama that has led to the noise.

For example, Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller made a list of 10 landing spots for Devers, Miller had the Washington Nationals at No. 1 on the list.

"But Washington could be one big splash away from becoming a legitimate contender again in 2026," Miller said. "James Wood, MacKenzie Gore and CJ Abrams are thriving. Ideally, Dylan Crews will soon start hitting well enough to join that club of foundational pieces. Josiah Gray should be back from Tommy John surgery, rejoining what could be a stout rotation. Most pertinent to this discussion, though: No one in that group of key players is exactly making big money right now.

"In fact, after going north of $200 million to win it all in 2019, the Nats presently have the lowest "active 26-man" payroll for 2026, and undeniably have the financial flexibility to go out and acquire a Devers-sized contract, even with quite a bit of dead/deferred money still owed to Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer...And if (Brady House) is willing and able to make the shift to first base that Devers won't, that could be a "two birds, one stone" solution to what has been a woeful corner infield situation for a few years."

There's no reason for the Red Sox to trade Devers at this time. And a big-market team like Boston shipping out its most expensive player to a small-market team like Washington after years of fans calling on the Red Sox to be more aggressive certainly wouldn't look good.

Winning solves everything. Hopefully, the Red Sox can start piling up wins again and put this chatter to rest.