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We’d say the June 15 Rafael Devers trade was the shock of many Boston Red Sox fans’ lives, but Red Sox Nation has been here before (far too many times). The Mookie Betts, Nomar Garciaparra, and now Devers trades leave Boston’s return players in an incredibly uncomfortable position.

The Red Sox’s return for Devers is mostly San Francisco eating his entire contract. The players they got back are underwhelming as a direct exchange for a player of Devers’ caliber, but the erased contract money pulls a lot of weight here (for the front office and its cherished financial flexibility, of course). Pitchers Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison, and prospects James Tibbs III and Jose Bello are the newest Red Sox. Hicks is on the injured list and will be out of commission for at least a few more weeks, Harrison has been optioned to Triple-A, and Tibbs and Bello are years from MLB readiness.

Hicks, Harrison, Tibbs and Bello don’t add up to Devers, especially given his history in a Red Sox uniform. But they didn’t ask to be shipped to Boston, nor to have their careers as they knew them uprooted. Be nice to them.

Red Sox fans should direct their anger over Rafael Devers trade to the front office, not the new players

Its not their fault Its not their fault Its not their fault Its not their fault Its not their fault Its not their fault Its not their fault Its not their fault Its not their fault Its not their fault Its not their fault Its not their fault Its not their fault

— Dom Proietti (@yettifilms_) June 16, 2025

The comments under the Red Sox’s “welcome” post for their new players are riddled with angry fans saying they don’t want Harrison or Hicks in Boston. They are not responsible for the situation that landed them there. Take your anger out on the Red Sox, as they rightly deserve, for treating their former franchise player like an afterthought.

Alex Verdugo and Connor Wong arrived in Boston to a chorus of the same emotions Hicks, Harrison, Tibbs and Bello have faced. Despite how his time with the Sox ended, Verdugo batted .288/.343/.425 in his first three years in Boston and was a key contributor in the outfield. Wong and Jeter Downs didn’t work out as they were supposed to and the Betts trade was undeniably a disaster from the very beginning, but that’s ownership’s fault.

It was unrealistic to expect Verdugo, Downs and Wong to make up for the Red Sox losing Betts, and it’s equally foolish to expect Hicks, Harrison, Tibbs and Bello to fill the Devers shaped hole on Boston’s roster. But they’re going to do their jobs to the best of their ability, regardless.

If you take issue with the Devers trade, there are multiple more mature, productive ways to convey that to ownership. Don’t buy tickets to Fenway Park or Red Sox merchandise — they traded Devers to free up money most of all, and since ownership has shown for years it cares about money more than anything, it serves fans best to hit it where it hurts.

The new Red Sox players are just trying to do their jobs. Don’t make it harder for them by misdirecting your anger about the trade.