It only took them 24 hours, but the Boston Red Sox have finally commented on trading Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants. In the end, the Boston brass is saying it couldn't get on the same page with Devers on what was best for the team, and both sides believed a fresh start would be best. 

While the trade, which sent Devers to San Francisco for a package of four players, was announced late Sunday night, the Red Sox didn't address the media about the blockbuster swap until Monday night. That's when chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and president Sam Kennedy held a Zoom call with reporters -- Breslow was with the team in Seattle while Kennedy was back in Boston -- and highlighted what they believe went wrong with Boston's $300-million player. 

A "lack of alignment" between the two sides -- which essentially boiled down to Devers' unwillingness to play the field after being moved to DH -- and Boston's desire to establish a strong culture in the clubhouse for the team's young players. The duo shouldered plenty of blame for the strained relationship and missteps the team made along the way, but also believe the Red Sox will be a better, more complete team because of the trade.

"I understand why the initial reaction would be it's tough to say [we'll be better] after you move a player of Raffy's caliber and take his bat out of the lineup. How can you say we're a better team? I acknowledge that on paper, we're not going to have the same lineup we did," said Breslow. "This isn't about the game that is played on paper but the game that is played on the field, and winning the most games we can and putting together the most functional and complete team we can."

Breslow said the team will now have flexibility to get younger players like Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer more consistent playing time. Overall, he believes the Red Sox will have a more functioning roster after the move.

"When you consider the flexibility and ability to give some of the younger players some run, and the opportunity to repackage some of the resources and fill the voids on the roster approaching this year's deadline, and being intentional about the environment we create for these young players to thrive in, I do think there's a real chance we'll look back and have won more games than we otherwise would have," he said.

What went wrong with the Red Sox and Rafael Devers?

The issues started in the winter when Boston started courting free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman. At no point during that process did the team approach Devers about a possible move to DH, which Breslow was second-guessing on Monday.

"It seems easy given where we are today to say we mishandled that," said Breslow.

When Bregman signed, he was initially expected to move to second base while Devers remained at his usual position of third base. Devers was adamant about staying at third during spring training, but was ultimately moved to designated hitter, which didn't sit well with the 28-year-old. 

When Triston Casas was lost for the season in early June, Devers was approached about playing first, but rejected the new position. At one point, Kennedy and principal owner John Henry flew to Kansas City to meet with Devers, but couldn't convince him to make a move.

"In the end, it was pretty clear we couldn't find an alignment with Raffy," Kennedy said Monday. "We all worked at it over the last several months, going back to the offseason. Starting with Alex Cora, Craig and the staff, up to me and all the way up to John Henry. We worked at it, we had a different vision for him going forward than he had and we couldn't get there. We reached that inflection point and made the decision to make a big move."

"There were times during the course of conversations with Raffy's camp where they indicated that perhaps a fresh start would be better for both sides," added Breslow. "We were committed to working through this but ultimately we couldn't come to alignment." 

Breslow said there was never a single point where the team decided it was time to move on from Devers. But there were several moments that Breslow now looks back on and wonders what he could have done differently -- and if it would have made a difference in the end. 

Craig Breslow has regrets

Breslow said Sunday's trade has forced him to go back and look at his interactions with Devers -- and all players for that matter. He owned that he needs to do some things differently in the future.

"I shoulder a significant responsibility here failing to find common ground. I re-think each step along the way and question if they were the right ones," Breslow said Monday.

He also said he wasn't sure if a different approach would have led to a different outcome in the Devers situation.

"I need to own things I could have done better, and I don't know if this outcome would have played out any differently. I think there was a decent chance it wouldn't have, but I need to have the humility to look back at the interactions and think about what I could have done differently," he said. 

Devers was traded to improve culture in the clubhouse

Reading between the lines, the Red Sox didn't think Devers was acting like a leader and the highest-paid player in Red Sox history. He wasn't living up to the culture the team wants, and in the end, the Red Sox decided it was time to move on. 

"Being great teammates and sacrificing and stepping up for each other, we believe those are principals we need to be faithful to," said Breslow. "As we think about the identity and culture and environment that is created by great teams, there was something amiss here. It was something we had to act decisively to course correct."

What is the culture the Red Sox want in place as young players begin to make their way to the Majors?

"What it keeps coming to is the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Each individual is contributing and finding a way to help the team win, whether it's in the batters box, on mound, in the clubhouse," said Breslow. "The willingness to step up and sacrifice at a time of need to help this team win. … It's the identity the World Series championship teams have had in the past." 

Breslow admitted there is a bigger importance on the team's culture with youngsters Anthony, Mayer, and Kristian Campbell now part of the mix.

"Culture is always important, but it's magnified when you have young players coming to the big leagues and trying to acclimate themselves to this lifestyle and demands. Understanding they need to convert their emotions from being 'happy to be here' to willing to do anything to win as quickly as possible," he explained. "We're deliberate about the environment we're catering for these young guys so in 3-4-5 years from now they have set the standard and it's easy to pass along to the next group."

Was the Rafael Devers trade a "baseball trade"

Fans are, obviously, pretty furious with the trade. Devers was supposed to be the face of the franchise, and as much as Breslow and Kennedy pumped up the return in the deal, it's nowhere near what a team should get for a slugger of his caliber. Suddenly, those nightmares from the Mookie Betts trade in 2020 have resurfaced for Red Sox Nation.

Breslow and Kennedy were asked straight up by The Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy if the Devers move was a "baseball trade." Kennedy went to bat for the deal.

"It was a baseball trade because we did what we felt was in the best interest of the Red Sox on and off the field to win championships and continue to ferociously pursue a culture we want everyone in that clubhouse to embody and do everything in their power night in and night out to help the team," he said. "It was a baseball trade without question."

The Giants are taking on the remaining $250-plus million remaining on Devers' contract. Breslow said there was no mandate for other teams to assume all of Devers' deal, and while the team wasn't actively shopping him, it wasn't a sudden or surprising move for the Red Sox.

"We rightfully set a really high bar to execute a trade of this magnitude. We had conversations with other clubs and got a sense on how they might behave," said Breslow. "When you consider all the factors here, this is what made sense and the path we went down."

Breslow said that manager Alex Cora was kept up to date with all the developments throughout the process. 

"I let him know of the progress and his position is one we share; what's best for the Boston Red Sox is what we should act on," said Breslow. "He also understood all of the dynamics here and what we were trying to build in the short term and long term. Alex is someone who puts the Red Sox first, so he is behind this and supporting this.

"I say this in full confidence: I can't image a better manager who could manage the player reaction, clubhouse reaction to get to group focused on tonight's game and going out and beating the Seattle Mariners," added Breslow.

The timing of the trade was strange, considering the Red Sox had just completed a three-game sweep of the rival Yankees to up their win streak to five games just a few hours before the news broke. Boston had just clawed its way back over .500 and into a sense of relevancy when the Devers shockwaves started to be felt throughout the baseball world. 

Breslow said the trade is not an indication the team is already giving up on the current season. Quite the opposite, in his mind. 

"This is in no way signifying a waiving of the white flag on 2025. We are as committed as we were six months ago to putting a team together to win the division and make a deep playoff run," he said.

The Rafael Devers-less Red Sox have 89 games to prove him right. 

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