Boston Red Sox
“Early in the offseason, probably, we could have talked to Raffy and let him know that, ‘Hey, there’s a lot of guys out there, you know, and you never know what can happen.’”
Despite the Red Sox making the 2025 playoffs and the Giants missing the postseason entirely, the midseason Rafael Devers trade remains a topic that manager Alex Cora is being asked about.
Appearing as a guest on Underdog’s “Section 10” podcast, Cora fielded a question about what his biggest regret was before the season, which is when turmoil between Devers and Boston appeared to begin. Cora referenced his public comments praising Alex Bregman prior to the player signing with the Red Sox; Bregman ultimately replaced Devers at third base, and Devers became the team’s designated hitter.
“Early in the offseason, probably, we could have talked to Raffy and let him know that, ‘Hey, there’s a lot of guys out there, you know, and you never know what can happen,’” Cora said.
Reports arose, at the time, that Boston had not disclosed to Devers that it was legitimately pursuing Bregman, who was a free agent last winter, in the months leading up to spring training. This lack of communication resulted in Devers initially being unwilling to move off third base and become a full-time DH, and later refusing to play first base after Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury in May. Devers was dealt to the West Coast on June 15.
Cora said, in hindsight, that the organization should have made Devers aware of their interest in adding Bregman. However, Boston’s skipper explained he and the front office have “no regrets” about the trade.
“Probably, as an organization, we should have done that,” Cora said about discussing signing Bregman with Devers, “but there’s no regrets, to be honest with you. I think we did a good job trying to make everything work.”
“I think at the end, we needed to make that move for the benefit of everybody,” Cora added. He said the move was what was best for both the player and the Red Sox.
That is an honest admission from Cora, who is slated to manage the Red Sox for his eighth season in 2026. In the interview, Cora said he isn’t sure how much longer he’ll continue to manage. He is under contract in Boston through the 2027 season, but expressed that “it’s getting harder and harder” in his role.
Enduring a shocking trade like the Devers deal surely wasn’t easy on Cora, who is known for having great relationships with his players. Devers was the longest tenured Red Sox to play under Cora before getting dealt. Because of that, over the years, the two seemed to have a strong bond.
Cora said he has nothing bad to say about Devers despite a tumultuous end to the player’s time in Boston.
“Raffy’s a great guy,” Cora said. “He’s gonna have a great career in San Francisco, and us, as an organization, we move on, and we moved on really quick because we had to. It’s not that we don’t like the guy. It’s just that we had to because if not, no chance we were gonna survive the season. There’s a lot of learning experiences throughout, but from that one, I think probably would be more proactive early in the offseason.”
In the end, Devers is no longer on the team, and Bregman opted out of his Red Sox contract, becoming a free agent earlier this month. The organization has yet to determine who will play both third base and DH.
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