Red Sox trade of Rafael Devers looks even worse now after confusing moves

This past season, the Boston Red Sox stunned the Major League Baseball world with their blockbuster trade of Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants.

It was a huge deal, sending Devers to the Giants for James Thibbs III, Jordan Hicks, Jose Bello, and Kyle Harrison. While the Red Sox got out of his entire contract, it was still a rough trade for the Red Sox, as they lost one of the best hitters in the sport.

But, in the months since, Craig Breslow and company have somehow found a way to make the trade even worse. As Aram Leighton of Just Baseball notes, the moves made since the Devers trade have been crazy, and make the trade age very poorly for the Red Sox.

Red Sox trade of Rafael Devers looks a lot worse now than it did in the moment

"The craziest part about the Devers trade to me is the moves made after it," Leighton writes. "You take on Jordan hicks money to improve the player return of Kyle Harrison, James Thibbs III, and Jose Bello."

Harrison, Thibbs, and Bello were the best return the Red Sox could get for Devers by including Hicks in the deal. But that inclusion of Hicks has come back to bite them.

Not only did the Red Sox trade Thibbs and Zach Erhard for Dustin May (who's now no longer on the team), but they were forced into moving on from Hicks in a salary dump.

"The Hicks deal becomes such a nuisance to carry that you are attaching a top 10-12 prospect in your system in David Sandlin, who could probably pitch out of the bullpen for the Sox sometime this year too, and still has rotation upside if healthy. Oh, and they still sent $8M," Leighton writes.

This issue that Leighton brings up is the main reason why this trade of Devers hasn't worked out whatsoever for the Red Sox.

Not only did they already trade one of the prospects (Thibbs) they got in return for Devers, but they attached another interesting prospect in the deal, which turned out to only be a rental.

More: Red Sox busy offseason now includes a whopping 9 trades

And as if it couldn't get any worse, since Hicks' deal is so bad for the Red Sox, they shipped him off in a trade with the Chicago White Sox, along with a valuable prospect in David Sandlin.

All in all, less than a year after the Devers trade, the Red Sox are in a much worse spot. The offense is worse as they've yet to find a suitable replacement. They gave up three prospects (Thibbs, Erhard, Sandlin) and moved on from Hicks in a salary dump.

Only Harrison (who's not as impactful with the Red Sox's deep rotation), Bello, and Gage Ziehl, who was acquired in the Hicks salary dump with the White Sox, remain from the Devers trade.

The money they freed up must be used on an impactful infielder this offseason; otherwise, the trade of Devers will look a whole lot worse than it did in the moment, when it was already viewed as a massive mistake.

More MLB news:

• Pirates' stance on trading Paul Skenes called into question by The Athletic
• MLB Hot Stove tracker: Live updates on news, rumors, signings and trades for 2025 free agency
• Mets face 2 key questions after offseason of change
• Reds reunite with 49-homer slugger at major discount with $15 million free agent news
• Red Sox make big $15 million mistake with Eugenio Suarez Reds news
• Yankees reveal plans for power prospect Spencer Jones
• Orioles trade for 23-year old third baseman from AL foe