Braves expressed interest in Rafael Devers trade before Red Sox bombshell: Report

The blockbuster trade that shook Major League Baseball on Sunday didn't involve the Atlanta Braves. But in an alternate universe, perhaps it could have.

Longtime Boston Red Sox superstar Rafael Devers was traded to the San Francisco Giants for a four-player package: right-handed pitcher Jordan Hicks, left-hander Kyle Harrison, outfield prospect James Tibbs III, and righty pitching prospect Jose Bello.

The Red Sox's ruinous relationship with Devers in the months after they stripped him of his third base position clearly facilitated the move. San Francisco deserves a lot of credit for sensing that a deal was possible, because with 8 1/2 years left on Devers' contract, a trade at this time was virtually unprecedented.

To some degree, other teams could sense it too. And the Braves were one of those teams.

On Sunday, Sean McAdam of MassLive reported that the Braves, as well as the San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays, were among the other teams to have confirmed interest in a Devers trade with Boston.

"The trade came out of nowhere and stunned the industry. There was little evidence the Red Sox had been publicly shopping him around to other teams, though industry sources said other clubs had called in recent weeks, believing that the Red Sox would at least listen to offers," McAdam wrote.

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"Among the teams known to have inquired about Devers’ availability were the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays, though those teams were not as motivated as the Giants."

Presumably, for any such deal to work out, the Braves would have had to dump Marcell Ozuna as their designated hitter to clear space for Devers. Austin Riley and Matt Olson aren't going anywhere at the infield corners, at least as long as Atlanta's front office doesn't alienate one of them the way the Red Sox did Devers.

Instead, the Braves will have to make do with what they already had, and they've got a big hill to climb if they want to get back into the playoff race. But at least this fan base can breathe a sigh of relief that they aren't experiencing Boston fans' plight right now.

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