For as surprising and shocking as the Rafael Devers trade was, one aspect of the final details of the deal was not: the Red Sox got the San Francisco Giants to eat the entirety of Devers' remaining contract.
Money has been the motivating force in the Red Sox's operations decisions over the last half-decade and change, from the ill-fated decision to deal Mookie Betts to the much smarter decision to let Xander Bogaerts walk in free agency.
It's for that very same reason that the two highest-paid players on the roster (on deals longer than one season) have been frequently mentioned in trade rumors for the past year. But while Masataka Yoshida is nearing a return to a prominent role as he continues rehabbing his shoulder, Trevor Story appears to be on his last legs.
Now, trading Story is easier said than done. His aforementioned contract has a $23.33 million average annual value and two years remaining after 2025, plus a club option in 2028 worth $25 million. He also has an opt-out after this season, but suffice to say, he isn't going to be exercising that.
Red Sox should commit to youth movement by trading Trevor Story
In 72 games this year, all at shortstop, Story is slashing .230/.275/.363 with a depressing 30.1% strikeout rate, all good for a 73 wRC+. Toss his meager defensive contributions into the pile, and you get a player who, by all accounts, has been roughly replacement level in 2025. For someone making the second-most money on the team this year, that is, uh, not good.
He is still an excellent baserunner, but the days of Story being a perennial All-Star candidate are long over. He's just not the same player who left Colorado for Boston, and if the Red Sox can find a way to move from him, the future gets a lot less murky.
The blueprint is simple. Marcelo Mayer is currently playing third base while Alex Bregman is on the shelf, though the top prospect will need a new home once the latter is back. Boston may have opened a temporary spot for Mayer by demoting Kristian Campbell back to Triple-A, though that isn't a permanent move, and the ideal long-term depth chart would list Campbell at second and Mayer at his natural position of shortstop.
Plus, with Devers now playing in the Bay Area, the money is available to the front office to lock down Bregman on a long-term deal to have him flank those two at the hot corner.
Again, a lot of this discussion unfortunately goes back to money. Story just isn't worth much in a trade at this point, and his contract probably makes him a net negative asset on the market overall. A DFA is probably off the table too, given the Red Sox's insistence on not having dead money on the payroll.
And that's where the Sox find themselves post-Devers. A very obvious long-term plan that can be executed with a very obvious transaction, though a huge obstacle sits in the way of making said trade.
It appears that the only way this logjam gets solved is if the Red Sox are willing to eat some money on Story's contract. Good luck with that one.