The Boston Red Sox traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for pitchers Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison along with outfielder James Tibbs III and reliever Jose Bello on Sunday. The deal came after Devers refused to play first base following the Alex Bregman signing and Triston Casas' season-ending injury. Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow clearly had enough of Devers’ antics despite him widely being viewed as the team’s franchise player and posting a spectacular .905 OPS with 15 homers this season.
Red Sox-Giants Rafael Devers deal reminds Twins of painful Chuck Knoblauch trade from 1998
In 1998, the Twins dealt Knoblauch, who requested to be traded, to the New York Yankees in exchange for outfielder Brian Buchanan and shortstop Cristian Guzmán along with pitchers Eric Milton and Danny Mota. A part of the Twins’ 1991 World Series Championship team as a rookie, Knoblauch, who posted 38 bWAR in seven seasons as a Twin, likely wanted to leave Minnesota due to the team enduring five straight losing seasons.
According to bWAR, Knoblauch was surprisingly a more valuable player as a Twin than Devers was with Boston. The new Giants corner infielder/designated hitter posted 24.9 bWAR since making his major league debut in 2017 with Boston. Although there are no reports that Devers requested a trade before being dealt to San Francisco, his public disdain for being replaced at third base and being asked to play first base before getting traded is somewhat similar to Knoblauch’s departure from Minnesota.
Devers might face same issue Knoblauch did as opposing player at former team's ballpark
The Giants will play a three-game series against the Red Sox this weekend. Luckily for Devers, the series will be in San Francisco. However, he could be in for a rude welcome from fans when he returns to Fenway Park as an opposing player since his negative attitude likely played a big part in Breslow’s decision to trade him.
When Knoblauch, who won three World Series titles with the Yankees, competed in a three-game series between New York and Minnesota at the Metrodome as a visiting player in 2001, he received intense harassment from Twins fans, who pelted him with items while he was playing left field for the Yankees. Hopefully Devers doesn’t experience a similar environment next time the Giants head to Boston.