But they did. The Sox were 37-36 (.507) with Devers and are 51-36 (.586) since the trade through Friday.
On the same day Breslow made his comment, Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey called the acquisition of Devers “a great day for the San Francisco Giants and the city of San Francisco.”
The Giants were 41-31 (.569) pre-Devers and 37-50 (.425) since, and didn’t come close to the postseason.
That’s not all about Devers, of course. One player alone does not determine the course of a team.
But the obvious fracture between Devers and the front office vanished the day he was traded and the Red Sox have been more a more cohesive group since, in the clubhouse and on the field.
“That day [of the trade] was such a surprise,” Trevor Story said. “But I feel like we pulled together afterward. In our minds, it didn’t mean the season was over. I think we felt like we had something to prove.”
Without Devers locked in as the DH, Red Sox manager Alex Cora spread those at-bats around to get Roman Anthony, Rob Refsnyder, and Masataka Yoshida in the lineup.
Red Sox DHs have hit .268 with a .749 OPS since the trade. Devers hit .271 with a .902 OPS, so that’s not close.
But the league average for DHs his season has been .243 with a .755 OPS. The rotating DHs the Sox used came close to that.
Breslow was asked to revisit his comment on the trade and why the Red Sox improved as he predicted.
“It was not at all intended to be a criticism of Raffy and his talent and what he adds to a lineup,” Breslow said.
“The [best way] for winning the most games is often times having the most talented guys you can possibly have. But there is a roster-building, team-building component to that.
“There’s a versatility and flexibility that afforded Alex and afforded us in terms of moving guys around and being able to use the DH spot to maximize the matchups, getting outfielders off their feet, and a clear runway to keep Roman and Willy [Wilyer Abreu], and Ceddanne [Rafaela] in the lineup.
“When you put all of those things together, we have a chance to play really competitively and constantly make sure we’re creating the most [beneficial] matchups that we can.”
The Sox have used 11 players as DHs since the trade.
“We have this vision for creating a team that is dynamic and athletic,” Breslow said. “Roman and Jarren [Duran] and Ceddanne and Willy, they fit that mold. They’re able to impact a game on both sides and impact the game on the bases. I think that’s where the game is trending.”
Devers, while an excellent hitter, offered no value defensively or on the bases.
Devers refused to play first base for the Red Sox but took grounders at that position on his second day with the Giants. He has since started 27 games at first base and one at third base.
He has been roughly an average first baseman. Had he agreed to do that for the Red Sox, he might still be in Boston.
It was troubling to read colleague Alex Speier’s story on the Red Sox cutting the pay of multiple scouts in the organization as they put more faith in evaluating players via video, statistics, and data.
In 2025 it’s fighting against the tide to oppose modern methods. But it’s telling that the Yankees are among the teams who see the value in combining robust human scouting with video and analytics.
In a market such as Boston, you’d think the Red Sox would want to know as much about the person they would consider drafting or obtaining as they would the player.
Video and data give only a partial picture. Is the player a good teammate, does he take well to coaching, does he have a solid family and support system?
Those are judgments you can’t make with a laptop.
As a journalist, the 2020 and ’21 seasons were instructive in that regard. Covering games from home during the pandemic worked out better than expected because we had ready access to data that could be folded into stories as we watched the game on television. The job got done.
But the lack of in-person interaction made it much more difficult to get a sense of the player beyond his statistics and write stories that were more than just results.
Occasional Zoom interviews were stilted and always monitored by team personnel.
Whatever the Red Sox save by cutting salaries, they’ll pay the price by having less information. They’re also becoming an organization that somebody would have to think twice about joining.
A few other observations on the Red Sox:
⋅ Trevor Story’s defensive yips have come at a bad time. He had six errors over a span of seven recent games.
Story’s 19 errors are tied for third most in the majors. He had 10 DRS over 541⅔ innings from 2023-24. That has plunged to minus-7 as Story approaches 1,350 innings this season.
Justin Wilson is another issue. Lefthanded hitters had a .659 OPS against him before the break. It’s .772 since.
Then there’s Brayan Bello. Strikeouts are down and walks are up over his last five starts. He has a 5.40 ERA in September. It was 2.99 coming into the month.
⋅ Large-market teams such as the Red Sox should absolutely use their financial might to create advantages. But they whiffed badly on Liam Hendriks.
The Sox signed Hendriks in 2024 while he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and entering his age-35 season. The idea was that they would reap the benefits once he was healthy.
The Sox ultimately received 13⅔ poor innings over 14 games for a two-year, $10 million investment.
They’re trying the same thing with lefthander Patrick Sandoval, who was signed for two years and $18.5 million. He had Tommy John surgery on June 26, 2024, and was hopeful of returning this season.
He had a few bullpen sessions then was shut down for the rest of the season and sent home to Arizona to continue his rehab there.
Even if Sandoval is ready to start next season, it will be roughly 21 months between major league games. The Sox can’t view him as anything more than potential depth.
⋅ Buddy Bailey, who spent 14 seasons with the Red Sox in different jobs, died Tuesday after a long career in baseball. He was 68.
Bailey played in the minors for the Braves from 1979-82, ending his playing career to manage Atlanta’s rookie ball team in 1983, when he was only 26.
He was with the Red Sox from 1991-2004. Bailey managed Pawtucket from 1991-96 and again from 2002-04. He also was an advance scout and catching instructor, and was the major league bench coach under Jimy Williams in 2001.
Bailey managed, among others, Bronson Arroyo, Nomar Garciaparra, Tim Naehring, Aaron Sele, and Kevin Youkilis.
In all, Bailey managed more than 5,000 minor league games over 35 years with the Braves, Cubs, and Red Sox. He also managed and coached in the Venezuelan Winter League from 2002-24.
Only Joe Morgan (601) won more games with Pawtucket than Bailey (502).
“He was old school when it came to the game itself, but he combined that incredible baseball acumen with a charming personality,” said longtime Pawtucket [and now Worcester] executive Bill Wanless, who knew Bailey well.
The Rays finished 41-40 at Steinbrenner Field and drew 786,750 fans. There were 61 sellouts of 10,046.
All things considered, their home away from home worked out pretty well.
“I was appreciative that we were able to play here,” manager Kevin Cash said last weekend during the final home series of the season.
The Rays were forced to move from St. Petersburg after Hurricane Milton destroyed the roof at Tropicana Field and led to extensive damage inside the ballpark.
Major League Baseball brokered a deal with the Yankees to move the Rays to Tampa.
The Rays had excellent clubhouse and training facilities thanks to a recent renovation by the Yankees. The visiting side, which was rudimentary for spring training games, was expanded with extra room in the clubhouse and new batting cages.
The biggest issue was the field itself. There were 12 rain delays at Steinbrenner Field ranging from 10 minutes to 4 hours and 25 minutes on Aug. 24 before a game against the Cardinals.
Cash said the Rays adjusted their pregame schedule to avoid taking practice outside. They hit on the field only once or twice during a homestand.
“We all knew it was going to be hot. But it was a different level beyond that at times,” Cash said. “So you felt for what the players were going through. Most of our work was done on the road.”
Steinbrenner Field has the same dimensions at Yankee Stadium. But in hot weather and without a second or third deck, the ball flew.
“It felt like it does when we play spring training games, a lot of offense,” Red Sox infielder Romy Gonzalez said.
There were 207 home runs hit at Steinbrenner Field. Tropicana Field gave up 174 in 2024.
Asked what he thought of playing six games there, Red Sox manager Alex Cora laughed.
“I like our hotel,” he said.
But he said the Rays did well improving the facility, as the Athletics did at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento.
Playing nine games at minor league parks wasn’t ideal, but it was hardly a major inconvenience.
“You have to go out there and play games and win games,” said Cora, whose team was 6-3 on the road against the Rays and Athletics.
Now the issue for Cash and the Rays will be new ownership. A group headed by Florida-based real estate developerRay Zalupski was approved to purchase the team this past week.
Erik Neander is expected to remain head of baseball operations and Cash is signed through 2030.
“I haven’t had many conversations with [the new owners] and there’s probably a better time to talk about all that,” Cash said. “But we want to win. We want to do better than we did this year.”
A new roof is being put on the Trop and the Rays are in track to return to their ballpark next season. Zalupski has said he will pursue a new park for the team.
This season proved there is a fan base for the Rays in Tampa. That is sure to be part of Zalupski’s decision-making process.
Cohasset’s Ben Rice was one of the most-improved players in baseball this season. The Yankees catcher, designated hitter, and first baseman went into the final weekend of the regular season with a .826 OPS over 136 games. That’s a big jump from the .613 OPS he posted over 50 games in 2024. The difference? His hard-hit percentage rose from 36.7 percent to 56.3 percent. Now when you look at his percentile rankings, Rice is one of the league’s most consistent players in terms of hitting the ball on the barrel and exit velocity. Rice didn’t go to one of those training centers last winter. He stayed home and took plenty of batting practice off his father, Dan. “I knew what I had to do,” Rice said. “I had a plan and executed it.” Meanwhile, Rice caught Max Fried for the first time on Wednesday. So we had the Fried-Rice battery. Yes, it’s pronounced “Freed” but it’s still amusing … The Dodgers needed his bat in the lineup, so Shohei Ohtani couldn’t go on a minor league rehab assignment in his comeback from Tommy John surgery. He instead made a series of short major league starts from June 16-Aug. 20, and built up to five innings. Ohtani capped it with six shutout innings and 91 pitches against Arizona on Tuesday and now is a full-go for a start in the playoffs. Ohtani averaged 98.2 miles per hour with his fastball, topped out at 101.2, and threw seven different pitches over the course of his outing. His greatness seems to reach new levels every season … The Dodgers have an interesting decision to make with Roki Sasaki. Can they trust the 23-year-old rookie with a spot on the postseason roster as a reliever? Sasaki was a disappointment as a starter (1-1 with a 4.72 ERA in eight games) before landing on the injured list with a shoulder impingement. He also has earned a reputation for not wanting to pitch unless everything feels perfect. Sasaki throws hard and could well help the leaky Dodgers bullpen. But how well would he hold up to postseason pressure? He made his first relief appearance on Wednesday and struck out two in one inning. Sasaki topped out at 99.8 m.p.h. … Fear not the robot umps. Based on Triple A games, the automated ball-strike system that will debut in the majors next season is seamless and quick. Teams have two challenges per game (which are retained if successful) and it takes just a few seconds for the call to be reviewed. Only the catcher, hitter, or pitcher can challenge. Fixing blown calls is a good thing. There’s nothing sentimental or fun about an umpire missing a pitch … Condolences to the family and many friends of Rangers special assistant Scott Littlefield, a Maine native who died this past week while on assignment scouting in Houston. Littlefield was a key figure with the Rangers, somebody general manager Chris Young counted on for straightforward advice. Littlefield worked 34 years in the majors as a scout and was at the center of a baseball family. His son, Tyler, scouts for the Padres. His daughter, Erika, is an amateur scouting assistant for the Orioles. One brother, Dave, is a former GM of the Pirates. Another, Mark, has been with the Yankees for 35 years on the medical side of player development … Happy birthday to Rob Woodward, who is 63. The righthander from New Hampshire appeared in 24 games for the Red Sox from 1985-88, going 4-4 with a 5.04 ERA as a swingman. Woodward starred at Hanover High and was a third-round pick in the 1981 draft. He was selected before, among others, David Cone, Sid Fernandez, John Franco, Mark McGwire, and Paul O’Neill. Woodward was in the Sox organization through 1989, then spent two years with the Orioles in Triple A. He stayed in New Hampshire after his playing days, working in construction and hosting a radio show.