Dustin Pedroia spent his 14-year MLB career with the Boston Red Sox, but he could understand why Rafael Devers seemed bothered by the signing of Alex Bregman last offseason.

Speaking to WEEI’s Rob Bradford on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast, the former Red Sox second baseman admitted he was caught off guard as to why Boston signed second baseman Yoan Moncada two years after Pedroia signed an eight-year extension.

“I wasn’t worried about it because I had a full no-trade clause and (couldn’t) care less. But I did care,” Pedroia said. “You know what I mean? You care as a player. I’m like, ‘I’m doing all I can here to help us win games.’ And instead of spending $(31.5) million on a second baseman, let’s go spend $(31.5) million somewhere else.

“As a player, you’re thinking in your mind like, man, I thought I was their guy. I thought they loved me like I love them,” he later added. “But that’s an emotional reaction right away. And I guarantee you, Raffy had the same reaction when we signed Alex.”

Moncada was traded in 2016 to the Chicago White Sox in a package for Chris Sale.

After they signed Bregman, Devers made it clear he didn’t want to be the team’s designated hitter and didn’t want to give up third base. Devers began the season as the DH and struggled to find a groove before finding his footing at the plate.

“‘I’ve been here, I won a World Series. I’ve hit 30 home runs and this and this and this, and then all of a sudden we go spend $40 million on a third baseman,’” Pedroia said. “That’s a human reaction, that’s human nature. That’s life, that’s baseball, unfortunately.”

Devers had the opportunity to get back on the field when Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury in May. The Red Sox approached Devers about playing first base, but he declined.

“They had the conversation with me,” Devers said. “I don’t think for me personally it’s the best decision after they asked me to play a different position and I only have two months of playing this position. To all of a sudden have me try to play another position. … From my end, it doesn’t seem like a good decision.”

“I don’t think they stay true to their word,” he added. “They told me I was going to be playing this position, DH. And now they are going back on that. So yeah, I don’t think they stay true to their word.”

The Red Sox elected to trade Devers two years after signing him to an 11-year, $331 million extension. He got a fresh start in the Bay Area. He even played 28 games at first base.

The way Devers handled everything doesn’t make Pedroia think less of the former Red Sox infielder. He understands it’s unfortunate, but knows baseball is a business at the end of the day.

“For me, I would love to see Raffy finish his career as a Red Sox and have that smile on his face and hit 30 home runs for 20 years, which he’s probably going to do,” he said. “But sometimes it doesn’t work out that way.”