When the Boston Red Sox traded Rafael Devers out of nowhere on Sunday, it's not like anybody couldn't connect the dots. Whatever Craig Breslow and the front office did in the offseason soured the relationship, and it reached a boiling point when they asked him to play first base after taking third base away from him and moving him to DH.
Whether Devers had an ego or not, he didn't do this. In fact, nobody asked for this. And on Monday night, Craig Breslow and Sam Kennedy addressed the media about the blockbuster deal with the San Francisco Giants, with Breslow essentially admitting previous missteps in communication.
But that was hardly what the Q&A featured. It was mostly these two men deflecting legitimate criticism about the baffling move they just made. When pressed about why they traded two Hall of Fame players in the span of five years, Kennedy alluded to the fact the Red Sox have the most World Series since 2004 and they're "proud of that."
That's great, Sam! But how many do you have ever since making two of the worst trades anybody in the history of the sport has seen? We know the answer!
If you thought that was bad, AI Breslow offered one of the most ridiculous responses when asked about the 2025 Red Sox succeeding without Devers.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow on succeeding without Rafael Devers in 2025: “I do think there’s a real chance that at the end of the season, we’re looking back and we’ve won more games than we otherwise would’ve.”
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 17, 2025
Craig Breslow throws shade at Rafael Devers with comment no Red Sox fan will believe
Is this guy ... kidding? Seriously. Devers was hitting .272 with a .905 OPS and 152 OPS+ through the first 73 games of the season. He registered a 2.3 WAR. Without question, he was the best hitter on the team when looking at the complete picture.
Without his production, even the most die-hard Red Sox fans can admit it's hard to envision where this .500 team might be. This roster undoubtedly has talent, but it lacks star power. Bregman is the only other bonafide star, and he's currently injured. Jarren Duran has regressed after his 2024 All-Star campaign. Carlos Narvaez, Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Ceddanne Rafaela have limited big league experience. Trevor Story, up until the last two weeks, has been terrible in a Red Sox uniform. There is simply no way Abraham Toro, Romy Gonzalez and Rob Refsnyder maintain this production as depth players.
Even if fans wanted to find a way to cope with Devers being traded, they would not be saying "Well, at least we'll be better without him!" He was traded in the middle of June and there is no formidable replacement that can step into his shoes anytime soon.
Re-watch this entire press conference. The Red Sox dysfunction and delusion was on full display for the entire world to see, with over 80,000 viewers on the live stream.