No matter which side you fall on in the Rafael Devers v. the Boston Red Sox debate, we can all agree that the Red Sox aren't going to trade him. Devers was extended to be the face of the Red Sox franchise, he's still on the younger side of 30, received MVP votes for the fourth consecutive season in 2024, and is still owed $253.5 million through 2033.
Plus, this power struggle is more the Red Sox's fault than Devers. They probably shouldn't have promised him third base (even though Alex Cora made it very clear that was a Chaim Bloom decision, not a Craig Breslow one) even though he never graded well there through his time in the minors, and they could've gone after a big bat who played anywhere other than third base. It would be an absolutely terrible look if they traded Devers to let Alex Bregman play third when he might not even be in Boston all that long.
But the trade rumors have still run rampant despite their improbability. Bleacher Report had a slew of particularly crazy ones, but the biggest standout might be one that would send Devers to the Angels in exchange for Mike Trout, LA's No. 5 prospect Samuel Aldegheri, and $100 million cash to pay for part of Trout's contract.
Bleacher Report pitches Rafael Devers-Mike Trout trade for Red Sox and Angels that wouldn't make anyone happy
Mike Trout is Mike Trout — a certifiable Hall of Famer and probably a first balloter, at that and already a living legend in the game — but he's 33, hasn't managed to stay healthy since 2020, and is still owed $222.7 million through 2030. He's still great when he's healthy (he managed to pick up 1.1 fWAR in just 29 games last season), but no one is going to want to take a risk on his contract with his recent history, even if the Angels did send over almost half of the money he's owed.
It's hard to believe that Angels fans would be all that thrilled about this, either, when Trout is basically their singular saving grace on a team that's otherwise filled with disappointments.
The Red Sox are also pretty set on outfielders as it is. Jarren Durran, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Wilyer Abreu will get most of the starts in the grass with Masataka Yoshida and Rob Refsnyder expected to get some reps there as well. Roman Anthony is also waiting in the wings for his MLB debut.
So this one's never going to happen. Both Devers and Trout are going to stay exactly where they are.