Luka Dončić Has Company: Red Sox's Rafael Devers trade bewilders MLB players and fans

In what has become a feeling Red Sox fans know all too well, Boston has traded yet another superstar player.

It was just five years ago that Mookie Betts was told to skip town, though at least the public posturing on that was the notion that the 2018 AL MVP simply wanted too much on his next contract extension.

The same "logic" was applied to the team's stance on Xander Bogaerts' free agency tour, as the team let him leave for San Diego with nothing more than a qualifying offer attached.

And now, in what was perhaps the most heartbreaking blindside of them all, Rafael Devers is headed to yet another NL West contender, in exchange for a meager package of prospects and MLB pieces that will do nothing to turn the team's near-term fortunes around. Yet again, money is being placed front and center of the team's decision, though the front office's bruised ego from Devers' insistence on remaining at third base has also been highlighted by those in the know.

Much like the gobsmacking Luke Dončić trade the NBA world experienced mere months ago, a formative face of the franchise is heading to the West Coast for a laughable return package. And much like that deal, the fans and pundits had plenty to say on the Red Sox's bewildering decision to trade Devers after sweeping the rival New York Yankees to get back above .500.

MLB world, Red Sox fans react to jaw-dropping Rafael Devers trade

Again, the Red Sox have made an unfortunate habit of letting superstars go for little compensation. We don't need to remind you that Forbes just ranked them as the third-most valuable franchise in Major League Baseball at $4.8 billion, but we suppose nuking your reputation with star-level players is worth it if you can save a few bucks in 2031.

MLB's foremost pundit, Jeff Passan, tried to offer up an explanation for the deal, though even he acknowledged that the general consensus around the league is that the Red Sox don't have a clear plan.

Noted Boston fan Bill Simmons tried to connect some dots following the Fenway Sports Group's signing of soccer star Florian Wirtz for Liverpool:

Not that this will make anyone feel better, but, yeah, Devers is a pretty good hitter, no matter what the financial models say:

Even worse? Red Sox fans won't have to wait long to see Devers again:

And finally, just a few reactions that sum up the way we're all feeling. Grief, even communal grief, is hard to process, and all of us in the Red Sox fanbase are going through it right now.

Mavericks fans can relate. They were fully blindsided by the Doncic trade even though there was some drama bubbling beneath the surface. They just didn't think something would materialize that abruptly and in such an underwhelming manner.

Devers isn't quite the superstar Doncic is, but he was the face of the franchise and a fan favorite. It has a similar effect given the magnitude, the surprise element, and the lack of value coming back in return.

While the Mavericks propped up one of the NBA's most hated franchises in the Lakers with the trade, the Red Sox, in a way, let the Yankees off the hook in moving Devers. The slugger absolutely destroyed the Yankees over his tenure and had Gerrit Cole's number. It was a unique edge for the Red Sox that they no longer possess.

What's absolutely crazy is that the Sox traded Devers to another team with an All-Star third baseman, fully indicating that this deal was out of spite and nothing else. That's another layer to enrage Red Sox fans as they try to make sense of this in the coming days and weeks.