Shortly after the Red Sox swept the Yankees on Sunday, Boston stunned the Bombers by trading Rafael Devers.
“I got the notification, and I was shocked,” Cody Bellinger said. “I think it was different because we just played them. So I was like, ‘Whoa.’”
The Sox shipped Devers to the Giants in exchange for right-hander Jordan Hicks, left-hander Kyle Harrison and prospects James Tibbs III and Jose Bello. The blockbuster came just two years after the Red Sox gave Devers a 10-year, $313 million extension — the largest contract in team history — and after months of conflict between the two parties over where Devers should play.
“I think it certainly caught the baseball world a little off guard, and everyone’s a little bit stunned,” Aaron Boone said before the Yankees began a series with the Angels on Monday. “But when the dust settles, you’re also not stunned, just with all the noise around that over the last couple of months. So obviously it’s a great player and a big-time bat leaving our division. We’ll see how it works out.”
A third baseman his whole career, Devers did not want to DH after the club signed Alex Bregman. He eventually accepted the no-defense role but then resisted a team request to play first after Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury. That happened about a month ago.
Tensions between the star, the last remnant of Boston’s 2018 championship team, and club had appeared to cool in the weeks since, but the Red Sox sent shockwaves through the baseball world when they ended Devers’ tenure in unceremonious fashion on Sunday.
Devers has been a thorn in the Yankees’ side throughout his career, so it’s not like he’ll be missed in the American League East.
While he has made life particularly hard on Gerrit Cole, Devers totaled a .270 average, .880 OPS, 31 homers and 78 RBI over 119 games against the Yankees as a member of the Red Sox. On Sunday, the 28-year-old homered against the Yankees in his last official at-bat with Boston.
Then the Red Sox dropped a bombshell, concluding his role in the rivalry. However, Boone wouldn’t say that he was happy to see the three-time All-Star end up on the other side of the country.
“I don’t know. It’s not my area to work,” Boone said. “I mean, careful what you wish for. You never know how these things shake out and what it means for either team. So that stuff’s gotta play out.”
Bellinger, meanwhile, noted that he was a member of the Dodgers when the Red Sox traded another World Series-winning icon, Mookie Betts, to LA in 2020. In 2022, the Sox also failed to sign Xander Bogaerts, another part of that 2018 team.
However, Bellinger doesn’t believe players are taking Boston’s track record with homegrown stars into consideration in free agency.
“I honestly don’t think it’s a thought. I really don’t,” Bellinger said. “The fit’s the fit. I don’t think there’s a thought.”
Cousins Needs Tommy John
Things were already trending in this direction, but Boone said that Jake Cousins does in fact need Tommy John surgery. The skipper believed the procedure is scheduled for Wednesday. It will be performed by Dr. Keith Meister.
With Cousins out long-term, there is an even greater need for the Yankees to add to their bullpen prior to the trade deadline.
Brubaker In The Bronx
JT Brubaker made an appearance at Yankee Stadium on Monday, as he was told to report for catch play. The righty, who broke his ribs trying to avoid a comebacker in spring training, made his sixth rehab start on Friday.
“He’s getting close to potential activation, so he’s here kind of finishing off his rehab a little bit,” Boone said, adding he sees Brubaker as a potential long-man after building up as a starter.
A member of the Yankees’ 40-man roster, Brubaker doesn’t have any minor league options left, so the club will have to activate him, designate him for assignment or trade him once his rehab assignment, which began on May 18, ends. The Yankees could option Scott Effross to make space for Brubaker when the time comes. Yerry De los Santos and Ian Hamilton are other possibilities.
Brubaker, acquired from the Pirates in March 2024, has not pitched in the majors since 2022. He was still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery at the time of the trade, and he also suffered an oblique injury last season.
Now, however, Brubaker said he feels like he did pre-surgery. With the 31-year-old possibly nearing his Yankees debut, he said he never lost hope that he’d make it back to the big leagues.
“Just the love for the game, the competitive edge,” Brubaker said of what’s kept him going. “I guess it’s like an addiction. The adrenaline rush is a drug.
“It makes it even better to be on the biggest stage in Major League Baseball here at Yankee Stadium.”
