Rafael Devers’ timeline of controversy with Red Sox, from position change saga to stunning Giants trade

The Red Sox made a stunning trade on Father's Day, offloading star hitter Rafael Devers to the Giants. 

The move ended a months-long saga between Devers and Boston, as the relationship between the two sides seemed to deteriorate over time. Devers, who was a third baseman for his entire career, moved to designated hitter full-time this year, which appeared to cause a rift between him and the team.

While Devers has been playing at an All-Star level, the Red Sox appeared ready to move on from their longest-tenured player. Here's a timeline of how Devers' relationship with Boston soured to this point.

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Rafael Devers timeline of trouble

Red Sox sign Alex Bregman

Over the offseason, the Red Sox made a huge splash by signing third baseman Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120 million deal. Of course, Devers has served as Boston's third baseman since 2018, but his defensive struggles at the position led to Boston adding a much better defender.

Bregman was a gold-glove caliber third baseman for most of his career with the Astros, but he offers the flexibility to play second base, a position of need. However, once Bregman signed, manager Alex Cora didn't commit to Bregman playing a specific position.

"He's a Gold Glove third baseman. He hasn't played second base in the big leagues," Cora said, via NESN. "I do believe he can be a Gold Glove second baseman, too. Like I said, there's sort of other stuff that comes into play as far as roster construction and what's better for the team and what can be the best lineup."

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Rafael Devers refuses to move off of third base

Devers, who is in the second year of a 10-year, $313.5 million deal, said he was promised that he would remain at third base at the time of the signing a few years ago. However, Chaim Bloom was the executive who agreed to that deal, not current Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow.

After the Bregman signing, Devers said that he wouldn't want to play any other position besides third base, largely due to a lack of communication between him and the front office.

"Third base is my position," Devers said, via ESPN. "It's what I play. I don't know what their plans are. We had a conversation. I made it clear on what my desires were. Whatever happens from here, I don't know."

Ultimately, Boston decided to have Bregman play third base, moving Devers full-time to designated hitter.

"We had conversations throughout Spring Training, and [Devers] was very vocal about how he felt," Cora said, via MLB.com. "We made a decision. Alex is going to play third, and Raffy is going to DH. We all are in the winning business, and [Devers] understands that."

MORE: Rafael Devers trade grades for Giants and Red Sox

Red Sox ask Devers to play first base, Devers calls out team

Devers started the season off slowly as a full-time designated hitter, going 0-19 with 15 strikeouts to begin the year, but he turned it on from there and returned to his All-Star form.

Then, starting first baseman Triston Casas went down with a season-ending knee injury, opening up a spot at first base. A logical answer would be for Devers to learn to play first, but when Boston approached Devers about the possibility, he said no.

"I know I'm a ballplayer, but at the same time, they can't expect me to play every single position out there," he said, via ESPN. "In spring training, they talked to me and basically told me to put away my glove. I wasn't going to play another position other than DH. Right now, I don't think it would be an appropriate decision by them to ask me to play another position."

Devers also took a shot at Breslow, a former pitcher who is now the lead executive in Boston.

"He played ball. I would like to think that he knows that changing positions isn't easy," Devers said through an interpreter. "Now, they should do their jobs essentially and hit the market and look for another player. I'm not sure why they want me to be an in-between. Next thing you know, someone in the outfield gets hurt and they want me to play in the outfield. I know the kind of player that I am, and that's where I stand."

John Henry meets with Rafael Devers

Immediately after the remarks from Devers, Red Sox owner John Henry flew out to Kansas City to meet with his star and try to settle things down.

"[Devers] expressed his feelings. John did the same thing," Cora said, via ESPN. "I think the most important thing here is we're trying to accomplish something big here. And obviously there's changes on the roster, situations that happened, and you have to adjust."

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Alex Bregman injured, Devers remains at DH

When Bregman went down with an injury, Boston maintained that Devers would stay the full-time designated hitter.

"I know that the guy's raking, he's the best DH in the American League right now,” Cora said, via The Athletic. "If he keeps continuing to do this, he's going to be in the All-Star Game as a DH. He's going to win a Silver Slugger at DH. Where we are at right now, this is where we're going. We made a decision. We'll continue to talk. I'm not saying we're going to close the door, but we feel very comfortable with Raffy Devers at DH."

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Red Sox trade Devers to Giants

The Red Sox finally decided to part ways with Devers by trading him to the Giants, ending this saga. Devers reportedly didn't request a trade, but Boston decided it was time to move on from their top hitter.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, Devers' refusal to move to first base "led to internal tension" that helped produce the trade. While Devers said on Sunday that he felt the drama was in the past, Passan added that he thinks the team and Devers just had enough with each other in the end.

"At the end of the day, I think the Red Sox had just grown a little bit tired, and Rafael Devers the same," Passan said.

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