No one saw this coming…
Hugwatch season was already getting heated up ahead of the big deadline next month, but very few people could have honestly said they expected what happened on Sunday.
Just ahead of the Red Sox start time, it was announced that the Red Sox and Giants had agreed on a blockbuster trade that would send Rafael Devers to San Francisco. In return, the Giants agreed to pay his whole contract, but also sent four players back to the Red Sox.
Full trade: The San Francisco Giants are acquiring Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox for Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, James Tibbs and Jose Bello, according to sources familiar with the deal.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) June 15, 2025
The Red Sox have been struggling this season, and they have also publicly struggled with Devers, who has refused to play certain positions and also said he wouldn’t yield third base to the incoming Alex Bregman. Now Boston is without Devers and Bregman — who is on the injured list — and the baseball world is in a tizzy over this unexpected trade.
Here are some extra links about the news:
- MLB dot com breaks down the massive trade.
- Ryan Phillips shares that San Francisco will take on the entirety of Devers’ contract.
Now let’s get into the rest of today’s links!
- Five things Ben Clemens liked (and didn’t like) last week.
- Tim Capurso reports that Shohei Ohtani has become the fastest player to the 250 home run and 150 stolen base mark.
- Former MLB player Sean Casey managed to hurt himself pretty seriously in a Savannah Bananas game. Story by Andy Nesbitt.
- MLB has quietly removed the A’s “reverse boycott” games from streaming, reports Alex Simon.
- The Nationals are not thrilled with their manager’s recent comments on the team’s losing streak. Story by Patrick Andres.
- White Sox fans think the Pope’s recent comments prove he really is a lifelong Sox fan. Story by Tyler Lauletta.
- Baseball is art.
- Eno Sarris and Evan Drellich look at what might be different about this year’s baseball. (The Athletic subscription required)
- Blake Silverman shares that Bruce the bat dog had the best time ahead of his major league debut.
- Sonja Chen reports that we may see Shohei Ohtani on a pitcher’s mound soon.
- Karl Rasmussen shares that the Dodgers have received some disheartening news about Roki Sasaki’s inury recovery.
- Eva Geithiem shares that MLB will not be doing anything to correct the “Dead Ball” issue this year.
- Blake Silverman brings us the moment that a Guardians pitcher was saved from a scary outcome by the brim of his hat.
- The first grand slam in AUSL history!
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.