It has officially been one year since Boston Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow made one of the most decisive moves of his career, trading his star designated hitter, Rafael Devers, to the San Francisco Giants, shocking the baseball world. Are the Red Sox better off since the deal? 

Devers' trade came in the wake of a series of miscommunications between the organization and its star. After spending much of the offseason discussing then free agent Alex Bregman’s ability to play second base at a high level, the team landed Bregman in February, quickly naming him the third baseman, leaving Devers without a position. Devers arrived at spring training and, after a couple of weeks of adjustment, settled into his new role as designated hitter. 

As we now know, thanks to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the decision to play Bregman at third and then top prospect Kristian Campbell at second base was based on Breslow’s computer model.  

After first baseman Tristan Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury, the team once again asked Devers to change positions, to which the star told Breslow to 'do his job' and add a first baseman. Devers' comments led to a one-on-one meeting with owner John Henry, where once again the star was defiant, setting in motion the trade that shocked Red Sox fans everywhere. 

Boston was fresh off a 2-0 win over the Yankees to sweep a three-game set at Fenway and on the plane headed to Seattle when Devers was rushed off board and told he was dealt. 

The Red Sox have gone 80-77 since trading Devers. With nearly a full season sample size, the Boston offense has yet to replace Devers production in the lineup, going from one of baseball’s best offenses to one of the worst. 

In the 74 games before trading Devers, the Red Sox offense ranked top 10 in baseball in batting average (.253), on-base percentage (.328), slugging percentage (.422), home runs (89), runs scored (353), and weighted runs created+ (105). In the 157 since the trade, it ranks 28th in home runs (155), 18th in runs scored (711), 14th in slugging percentage (.405), and 21st in isolated power (.154).

The team finds itself at 29-40 and in a distant last place in the American League East in 2026.

The return for Devers is one of the largest black eyes on Breslow’s resume, getting starter Kyle Harrison, former-first-round pick James Tibbs, reliever Jordan Hicks, and pitching prospect Jose Bello. 

After being largely ineffective in Double-A Portland, Tibbs was packaged with fellow outfield prospect Zach Erhard in a trade deadline deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers for starter Dustin May. 

In six appearances for Boston, May posted a 5.40 ERA before a right elbow injury caused him to miss the Red Sox' wild-card series in New York. While Tibbs has gone on to thrive in the Los Angeles system, hitting .282/.401/.559/.960 in 117 games. 

After struggling to an 8.20 ERA in only 18.2 innings of relief, Hicks was sent to the Chicago White Sox along with Boston’s No. 12 prospect David Sandlin in exchange for prospect Gage Ziehl in what was effectively a salary dump of Hicks’ two-year, $22-million deal. 

Then, of course, there’s Harrison, who Breslow touted as a potential front-line starter. After making just three appearances for Boston, Harrison was traded alongside prospect Shane Drohan and shortstop David Hamilton to Milwaukee for third baseman Caleb Durbin and utility men Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler.

While looking better at the plate as of late, Durbin has been one of the worst hitters in baseball in 2026; his wRC+ of 53 ranks second-worst among all qualified hitters. Meanwhile, Harrison has become the frontline arm that Breslow projected him to be.

In total, the Red Sox traded Devers, Drohan, Hamilton, Erhardt, and Sandlin for Durbin, Monasterio, Seigler, Ziehl, Bello, and 28.1 innings from May. 

Of course, the biggest return for the Red Sox was simply getting out from under the $241.94 million Devers was owed over the next eight years. But from a player perspective, it’s hard not to be incredibly underwhelmed when trading a player of Devers’ caliber. 

In trading their franchise player, the Red Sox handed the keys to Bregman, who was effectively on a one-year contract. When Bregman departed for Chicago in free agency, the Devers deal went from bad to worse for Breslow.

While the 29-year-old Devers has struggled in his first year in a Giants uniform, hitting .235/.323/.438/.762 with 29 home runs in 162 games, while playing primarily first base. All of the Red Sox' struggles in 2026 can be directly linked to an offense that simply doesn’t have enough firepower. Boston has yet to replace Devers' offensive production, whiffing on all of the big-name sluggers of the offseason.

While the 2025 team may have been better off without the drama that surrounded Devers, they are unquestionably worse without the presence of someone of his caliber in the middle of the lineup. Until they can find a big hitter to anchor their lineup, the team would have been much better off not making the move at all. 

The Red Sox will have Monday off before wrapping up their six-game homestand with a three-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays. Payton Tolle (3-3, 2.70 ERA) will get the start for the Red Sox, while Toronto has yet to name its starter. First pitch from Fenway set for 6:45 p.m. ET. on Tuesday night. 

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