Boston Red Sox
The Crimson Sox have already moved on from three items acquired as a part of final June’s commerce with the Giants.
COMMENTARY
By the point the Crimson Sox made the call to trade Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants final June, it regarded as if the bridge between the workforce and the disgruntled slugger had been decreased to ash.
However even when the Crimson Sox felt as if a long-term relationship with Devers was all however fractured, transport out an impression bat like him was solely going to be a palatable choice in the event that they acquired key property in return from the Giants.
To this point, that hasn’t been the case for a Crimson Sox workforce that isn’t solely lacking Devers’ bat within the coronary heart of its order, however has largely squandered the return from San Francisco within the course of.
Boston has already felt the ache of a punchless lineup by way of the primary 9 video games of the 2026 season, with a batting order trudging forward with out each Devers and Alex Bregman not precisely providing loads of safety for a urgent Roman Anthony out of the leadoff spot.
Granted, the message broadcast from Craig Breslow and Boston’s high brass going into a brand new baseball season was that the concessions made by taking Devers’ bat out of the lineup can be offset by the fiscal flexibility obtainable to bolster different areas of the roster.
“I don’t know that you just look to exchange one for one — you already know, the manufacturing of a man like Raffy, a man like Alex, however our objective is to, you already know, as a workforce, to win extra video games,“ Breslow stated in February. “I believe there’s a variety of completely different ways in which we will try this, and leaning into pitching and protection is actually one.”
The Crimson Sox actually leaned into pitching and protection this offseason. However, Boston has but to see that pivot repay.
Following Sunday’s 8-6 loss to the Padres, Boston is 2-7 on the season, shedding every of its first three collection towards Cincinnati, Houston, and San Diego.
Boston used a few of the cash freed up by San Francisco taking up the remaining $254 million left on Devers’ deal to signal southpaw Ranger Suarez to a five-year, $130 million contract.
Boston has dropped each of Suarez’s begins to date this season, with the lefty 0-1 with an 8.64 ERA. In his 4 innings of labor on Sunday towards the Padres, Suarez relinquished six hits, 4 runs, and two walks throughout 75 pitches.
The Crimson Sox’ protection hasn’t been a lot better, with Boston knocked for one more two errors on Sunday. After committing an MLB-worst 116 errors final season, the Crimson Sox have been knocked for 9 errors of their first 9 video games.
For now, issues look bleak at Fenway Park for a workforce seemingly poised to take a step ahead after final 12 months’s temporary playoff look.
“That is unacceptable. It’s unacceptable for the followers,” Anthony stated postgame. “It’s unacceptable to the usual that we set for ourselves.”
Boston’s disheartening begin to a brand new season would not less than be assuaged to a point if the opposite items that the Crimson Sox snagged from the Giants had been posting promising returns.
A few of them are — however for different groups.
Together with getting the Giants to tackle Devers’ contract, Boston additionally acquired righty pitcher Jordan Hicks, southpaw Kyle Harrison, and a pair of prospects in first baseman James Tibbs and righty Jose Bello from San Francisco.
Lower than a 12 months later, solely Bello, 20, stays in Boston’s group.
Hicks was a downright catastrophe final season with the Crimson Sox. The hard-throwing righty was tagged with an 8.20 ERA throughout 21 appearances and simply 18.2 innings earlier than getting shut down for the 12 months.
Boston traded Hicks to the White Sox in February, with the Crimson Sox needing to connect righty David Sandlin — the membership’s No. 8 prospect on the time by MLB Pipeline — with a purpose to get a majority of Hicks’ remaining $24 million contract off the books.
Harrison, a 24-year-old lefty who had uneven stints with San Francisco, spent the vast majority of the 2025 season with Triple-A Worcester after Boston plucked him from the West Coast. He in the end appeared in three video games (two begins) with Boston final season, sporting a 3.00 ERA and placing out 13 over 12 innings of labor.
Given the supposed glut of pitching on Boston’s roster, the Crimson Sox determined to commerce Harrison as a part of a bundle deal to the Brewers in February, with Caleb Durbin and Andruw Monasterio the headliners going again to Boston.
Whereas Durbin has labored to date with Boston (.071 common, 1 RBI), Harrison has seemingly meshed already with Milwaukee’s stout pitching pipeline — sporting a 2.61 ERA and placing out 14 over 10.1 innings in his first two outings with the Brewers in 2026.
Tibbs — San Francisco’s No. 4 prospect on the time of the Devers commerce — didn’t even final two months in Boston.
After simply 30 video games performed with Double-A Portland, the Crimson Sox traded Tibbs to the Los Angeles Dodgers as a part of a bundle for beginning pitcher Dustin Could on July 31.
Could didn’t transfer the needle down the stretch for Boston. In six appearances (5 begins) with the Crimson Sox, Could sported a 5.40 ERA, giving up 35 hits and 13 walks in simply 28.1 innings of labor. He signed a contract with the Cardinals in free company this previous winter.
Tibbs, in the meantime, is trying like a future star within the Dodgers’ farm system.
Now enjoying for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma Metropolis, the 23-year-old Tibbs is batting .514 with seven house runs, 4 doubles, one triple, and 13 RBI in simply eight video games.
The Crimson Sox have already got a primary baseman in Willson Contreras and a logjam of outfielders on the MLB roster.
However, it might be an excellent drawback to have for a lagging Crimson Sox offense to have a prospect like Tibbs teeing off in Triple-A — quite than giving the defending World Collection champs one other blue-chip prospect.
And, with Could being an abject failure in Boston after simply 5 begins, dealing away Tibbs for a rental stands as some brutal asset administration from the Crimson Sox.
The 2026 Crimson Sox nonetheless have loads of time to tug themselves out of this early-season tailspin. And Devers, admittedly, hasn’t teed off towards pitching to date in 2026 with the Giants (.211 batting common, one house run, two RBI).
However, very similar to the ill-fated Mookie Betts commerce that has loomed over Boston for years now, the Crimson Sox’ resolution to commerce Devers has regarded like one other whiff for a franchise that has been torched by a number of franchise-altering departures in recent times.
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