In the wake of the shocking trade that sent Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox to the San Francisco Giants on June 15, multiple reports about Devers' conduct and attitude emerged that contradicted prior assessments of his character.
For years, the Red Sox described Devers as something of a strong, silent type who was always smiling. He did his work and played well while generally avoiding the spotlight, but there was little to no reporting about him being a negative presence in the clubhouse before 2025, which the Red Sox insinuated before trading him.
Devers arrived in San Francisco and embraced his new teammates and a position change to first base. He was so open to his new gig that his brief teammate, Mike Yastrzemski, doesn't know where the drama with the Red Sox organization came from.
"He was the best, man. Like, awesome teammate, willing to do whatever he had to," Yastrzemski said during his August 11 appearance on the "Foul Territory" podcast. "...I think sometimes as players you have to stick up for yourself, and I think that's what he tried to do, and I think the wording of it was delivered poorly because he's an awesome teammate, he works his tail off, he tries to help everybody."
Former Giant Mike Yastrzemski contradicts Red Sox, says Rafael Devers is a great teammate
Rafael Devers is a fantastic teammate who's willing to do whatever and help whoever, says Mike Yastrzemski.
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) August 11, 2025
"I don't understand where all the heat came from." pic.twitter.com/pfgbOJrZnr
Yastrzemski — the grandson of Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski and a fan-favorite, despite never playing for Boston — and Devers were only teammates briefly, as the former was traded at the deadline. But Devers clearly left an impression in the six weeks the two spent with the Giants, and it sounds strikingly like the Devers that Red Sox fans grew to love before his extension in Boston.
The Red Sox have an established history of bad-mouthing and shading players and personnel who have left the organization on rough terms. Devers did his part to get traded by not being willing to change positions to help his teammates, but the drama between he and management was entirely fabricated by the front office — not only did the men in charge lie to him about their plans to sign Alex Bregman to play third base over the offseason, they signed no depth at first base despite it being their thinnest position and Triston Casas being injury prone. Couple that with the "full throttle" promise from the prior offseason, when the Red Sox wasted another year of Devers' prime by not signing any quality free agent help, and it's no wonder he felt underappreciated in Boston.
The Red Sox and Devers made a 10-year commitment to each other, and neither side held up their end of the bargain to keep the relationship workable. Still, it's curious that Yastrzemski's profile of Devers as a teammate is vastly different than Boston's after the trade.