Red Sox’s Season Takes Concerning Turn After Stunning Rafael Devers Trade
The Boston Red Sox’s 2025 season has taken a turn for the worse since they traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants on June 15.
At the time, the streaking Red Sox were coming off a galvanizing sweep of the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. They’d won five straight games to climb above .500, and they finally seemed to be heading in the right direction after an up-and-down start to the season.
That momentum was quickly derailed, however, by the shocking news that Devers had been traded. Boston would have to carry on without its best hitter and longest-tenured player.
Not surprisingly, the Red Sox have struggled without him. They went 3-for-6 on their West Coast road trip immediately following the trade, losing five in a row to close out the trip.
Boston’s offense collapsed without Devers, who was leading the team in numerous offensive categories at the time of his departure. The Red Sox have sorely missed his production at the two-hole and designated hitter, where their numbers have cratered.
Prior to the trade, Boston had a plus-22 run differential and was averaging 4.84 runs per game. Since the trade, the Red Sox have a minus-15 run differential and are averaging just 3.11 runs per game. They also have the worst strikeout rate and OPS in the Major Leagues.
Boston’s lineup was already shorthanded because of injuries to Alex Bregman, Triston Casas and Masataka Yoshida, and now the lineup is even thinner. Alex Cora’s been forced to rely on too many rookies and journeymen, and the results have been underwhelming.
The fourth-place Red Sox now find themselves two games below .500 and seven games behind the New York Yankees in the American League East. According to FanGraphs, Boston’s playoff odds have been nearly cut in half since the Devers trade, plunging from 31.0% to 16.9%.
Following Thursday’s off day, the Red Sox have a chance to stop the bleeding this weekend against the Toronto Blue Jays. However, they must find ways to start generating offense without Devers if they want to right the ship.