The Boston Red Sox's June 16 trade of Rafael Devers was utterly shocking. Not just because he's under contract for the next decade, but because the Red Sox did it with no clear backup plan.
Alex Bregman signed a three-year deal with the Red Sox over the winter, with opt-outs after each of the three years. Without Devers, Boston has no one to fall back on to play third base if Bregman decides to leave.
And the Red Sox have already given him plenty of reasons to go. He watched them treat their best player like garbage, there's ample evidence of poor roster construction around the team, and Boston gave him all the leverage in any potential negotiations.
The Red Sox have shown countless times that they lack loyalty to their players. The Devers trade is just one of the many examples of a former star leaving Boston in disgrace. The Nomar Garciaparra, Manny Ramirez, Mookie Betts and Devers trades should eventually cause free agents to notice the pattern of unsavory exits from Boston. Not even Terry Francona, who won two World Series with the Red Sox, escaped with any dignity. The Red Sox must extend Bregman to prevent such a disaster from happening again. It'll be hard, though.
Red Sox must extend Alex Bregman as soon as possible after Rafael Devers trade
The front office proved it's willing to act recklessly. Devers was the Red Sox's best player, and trading him only makes the team worse, especially because they didn't get any competent, major league-ready pitching as part of their return. John Henry and Craig Breslow were ready and willing to mortgage the season to stick it to Devers, and it could cause catastrophic ripples around the clubhouse, from killing team chemistry to crushing any positive momentum they've picked up over the season.
Bregman also knows that Boston has nobody else in the organization to play third base next season. Marcelo Mayer has done a fine job there while Bregman is on the injured list, but the front office has been adamant that it wants its top prospects to play in their natural positions. A third baseman, Mayer is not.
Bregman's career numbers at Fenway Park are incredible, and they've only improved this year, which will drive his contract price even higher than the $40 million per year he's already making. Bregman is slashing .299/.385/.553 through 51 games this year, and he's batting .316/.430/.616 with a 1.046 OPS at Fenway Park over his 10-year career. That kind of production comes at a premium the Red Sox have been historically unwilling to pay, but that isn't an option this time.
Signing Bregman is the reason the drama with Devers began in the first place. There will be zero excuse for the Red Sox letting that happen in vain — they have all of Devers' contract money to use to sign Bregman and whichever elite pitchers come to the negotiating table this offseason, if they can convince anyone even talk with them.