Red Sox brass cite lack of 'alignment' with Devers

BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox thought they would beryllium amended disconnected with a blessed clubhouse than a disgruntled Rafael Devers.

A time aft trading their erstwhile 3rd baseman to the San Francisco Giants, Red Sox president Sam Kennedy told reporters connected Monday nighttime that Devers' refusal to alteration positions made it untenable for him to stay with the team.

"In presumption of what was missing, it conscionable was that alignment successful presumption of what we felt we needed from him that would beryllium successful the implicit champion involvement of the shot club," Kennedy said. "That's a non-starter for us. We person to person that. We couldn't get there. ... So we made the determination that we made."

Less than 2 years aft signing Devers to a 10-year, $313.5 cardinal contract, the Red Sox sent him to the Giants connected Sunday nighttime for pitchers Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison and a brace of prospects. The woody came connected the time Boston earned a 5th consecutive triumph and completed a expanse of the rival New York Yankees -- a uncommon origin for excitement this season.

"It was a daze for definite aft the tally that we conscionable had this past week," pitcher Garrett Crochet said successful Seattle earlier Monday night's crippled against the Mariners. "There's a batch of play up of us. So, it's truly conscionable keeping your eyes guardant and knowing that there's inactive enactment to beryllium done."

Asked what the determination means for this year's team, person Aroldis Chapman said: "I don't know. I don't truly know."

Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow acknowledged connected the league telephone Monday nighttime that the woody leaves a spread successful the lineup, but helium hoped it would wage disconnected this season. Although determination is simply a recently created request for a powerfulness hitter, the squad present has roster and payroll flexibility to adhd players astatine the commercialized deadline, helium said.

"It's important to constituent retired that this is successful nary mode signifying a waving of the achromatic emblem connected 2025," helium said. "We are arsenic committed arsenic we were six months agone to putting a winning squad connected the field, to competing for the part and making a heavy postseason run."

A homegrown, three-time All-Star who joined Ted Williams arsenic the lone Red Sox players to person aggregate 30-homer seasons earlier turning 25, Devers' narration with the squad soured erstwhile it signed Gold Glove 3rd baseman Alex Bregman this offseason. Devers, who led the league successful errors for a 3rd baseman successful each of the past 7 seasons, balked astatine moving to designated hitter and past refused to play either archetypal oregon 3rd presumption erstwhile Bregman and archetypal baseman Triston Casas were some injured.

"We person a work to bash everything we tin to amended the club. And we felt we were doing that by bringing Alex Bregman to the Red Sox," Kennedy said. "And we person a responsibility, ironically, to each azygous subordinate successful that clubhouse to bash everything successful our powerfulness to amended the club. So it was thing that we were committed to doing. And I bash not regret that for 1 minute."

But they mislaid Devers successful the process.

"For immoderate reason, this squad (is) an illustration wherever the spread was not greater than the sum of the parts. And being large teammates and sacrificing and stepping up for each different and embodying this shared vision, we judge that those are principles that we request to beryllium faithful to. And so, astatine the extremity of the season, I deliberation we we could look backmost and accidental we've won much games than we different would have, due to the fact that of the mode that this roster is present capable to travel together."

Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow

"We worked astatine it. We had a antithetic imaginativeness for him going guardant that helium had, and we couldn't get there. We couldn't find alignment," Kennedy said. "And we reached that inflection constituent and made the determination to marque a large move."

The determination came arsenic a daze to Red Sox fans inactive salty implicit the wage dump of Mookie Betts successful 2020 -- a twelvemonth aft helium won the AL MVP -- successful a commercialized that yielded small successful return. The squad besides fto Xander Bogaerts permission arsenic a escaped cause earlier deciding that Devers was the subordinate they were consenting to put in.

Now, conscionable 1 afloat play later, he's gone, too.

"There's immoderate reasons that it didn't enactment out," manager Alex Cora said. "But the past fewer months hasn't been easy. We made decisions successful the offseason. Circumstances changed successful the past period and that's the concern determination we made arsenic an organization. Now Raffy is going to beryllium with the Giants and similar I said, we person to crook the leafage and beryllium acceptable for this team."

Breslow insisted that the woody was not an effort to chopped payroll -- similar the deals for Betts, who went connected to triumph 2 World Series successful Los Angeles, oregon Chris Sale, who won the NL Cy Young Award successful his archetypal play with the Braves. The shot brag acknowledged that helium second-guessed himself implicit however helium handled the Bregman signing, which caught Devers by surprise, and the attempts to get the 28-year-old All-Star to alteration positions.

"I deliberation astir that question each of the time," Breslow said. "This is not the result that we had expected. And it's forced maine to bespeak connected the interactions that I've had, not conscionable with Raffy, but with different players and opportunities to pass differently."

The Red Sox winning streak has travel with Bregman and outfielder Wilyer Abreu injured, joining outfielder Masataka Yoshida and archetypal baseman Triston Casas connected the injured list. In their place, the squad has relied connected callups similar Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer and apical imaginable Roman Anthony, who made his large league debut to overmuch hype past week.

Breslow said the beforehand bureau volition proceed to look for ways to amended the team, with a mediate of the lineup hitter a caller need.

"For immoderate reason, this squad (is) an illustration wherever the spread was not greater than the sum of the parts," helium said. "And being large teammates and sacrificing and stepping up for each different and embodying this shared vision, we judge that those are principles that we request to beryllium faithful to.

"And so, astatine the extremity of the season, I deliberation we we could look backmost and accidental we've won much games than we different would have," helium said, "because of the mode that this roster is present capable to travel together."