MONDAY BASEBALL A.D. (AFTER DEVERS)

Sifting through the debris after the seismic deal

HERE’S WHAT I’M LOOKING AT

This was going to be a Monday wrap-up/catch-up column. We had nine weekend sweeps, we had plenty of big games on the calendar, and it was time to look at where we stood with 90+ games to go.

Then this happened, just around 7 pm Eastern.

I thought it was a hack, a prank, a joke. It wasn’t. It was a game-changer.

So here we are, the morning after, sifting through the debris following the equivalent of a baseball earthquake, looking for nuggets. Some will be gold, while others will be pyrite.

HERE’S THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG

The Red Sox traded the 28-year-old Rafael Devers to the Giants for RHP Jordan Hicks, LHP Kyle Harrison, and 22-year-old OF/1B James Tibbs III and 20-year-old RHP Jose Bello (both minor leaguers).

What the Sox got in return is meaningless for the moment. What they dealt, is the story. The Sox have now saved $255 million over the next eight (plus 92 games) seasons in a sunk cost. They have saved themselves a headache they could not resolve internally. They have provided themselves with roster and lineup flexibility. They have given their young prospects room to grow. They have demonstrated that they are an organization that continues to operate poorly. They have indicated that the two faces of the organization, Craig Breslow and Alex Cora, are incapable of preventing problems and then solving the problems of their own creation. Consider a President and a worldwide economic crisis triggered by unnecessary tariffs as a meta-example. The Red Sox have shown to be more reactive than proactive. And, they have added another reason to alienate their fan base.

Ken Rosenthal has reached the level of greatness because of paragraphs like this, “There is no drama like Red Sox drama, and their latest messy divorce with a star player is one that figures to generate debate for some time. Only the Red Sox could upstage themselves after sweeping the Yankees for their third straight series win over a division rival and fifth straight victory overall.”

We know what we know by looking at the tip of the iceberg. The Sox signed Alex Bregman this offseason and indicated that he would be their second baseman. They knew damned well, that he would be their third baseman. I knew it, and anyone who looked at defensive metrics knew that Rafael Devers was a miserable defensive third baseman, one of the worst in baseball. While his range was limited and his errors were frequent (a hallmark of Red Sox infielders during the Cora era), none of them were as egregious as the way the management handled Devers during the Bregman signing. He felt dissed. His ego was bruised, and that proved to be an injury that would not heal.

He would not play third base when Bregman was injured. He would not play first base when Tristan Casas was injured. He would not eat green eggs and ham.

But he would hit.

What to do? What to do? What to do?

Let him hit. Keep him as DH. They had brought up the kids, Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer, and Roman Anthony. Bregman was healing. Wilyer Abreu was healing. Garrett Crochet was showing he was an ace. Bryan Bello was pitching like a number three starter. Lucas Giolito was pitching like a number three starter. Walker Buehler was pitching like a number three starter. Aroldis Chapman was closing like he had drunk from the fountain of youth. The team was consistently drifting around the .500 mark and showing they could get into the postseason thanks to the expanded playoff format.

BUT, IT’S THE PART OF THE ICEBERG WE CAN’T SEE